AR: Those Who Fight - Einherjar Edition
by Katkiller-V
Summary: Everyone has their own story, their own goals, their own dreams. Here we will cover some of the disparate personalities who inhabit the galaxy, focusing primarily on those who have received less screen time in the Another Realm series proper. I will be accepting requests for character focus, within reason. This story acts as a compendium to AR:V Einherjar.
1. Index

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Another Realm: Those Who Fight – Einherjar Edition**

 _As I did for Vengeance, this story is a side-compendium which will cover characters and situations only briefly touched on in the main story, but are important to the story-verse. Consider it as something of an appendix that happens to be located in a different story rather than at the end of a finished one._

 _Much as I did for the prior story, I will entertain requests (provided they're logical and relevant). Information will continue to be told in an in-universe format, with the main change being the chapter length. I think that trying to keep each chapter of the prior TWF at a similar length was a mistake because it limited how much I, honestly, wanted to work on it. Basically expect shorter chapters, but far more of them._

 _We'll be starting with combat evaluations of a few of the Warlords, as a reminder as to_ _ _why__ _people follow them/are terrified of them._

* * *

 _ **Index**_

 _ **Chapter 1:**_ _Combat Evaluation: Lady Warlord Yan T'Ravt_

 _ **Chapter 2:**_ _Combat Evaluation: Emperor Ganar Yulaz_

 _ **Chapter 3:**_ _Combat Evaluation: Mistress of the Eclipse, Jona Sederis_

 _ **Chapter 4:**_ _Organizational Format: T'Ravt's Empire_

 _ **Chapter 5:**_ _Organizational Format: The Eclipse_

 _ **Chapter 6:**_ _Organizational Format: Aria's Empire_

 _ **Chapter 7:** The Trophy Takers of Xentha_

 _ **Chapter 8:** War Analysis: The Terminus_

 _ **Chapter 9:** Broker Report: Active Artificial Intelligences_

 _ **Chapter 10:**_ _Organizational Format: The Silver Blades_

 _ **Chapter 11:** Cerberus Analysis: Illyan T'Donna_

 _ **Chapter 12:** Cerberus Analysis: Voya'chi vas Xentha_

 _ **Chapter 13:** Cerberus Analysis: Shyeel T'Voth_

 _ **Chapter 14:** Cerberus Analysis: Cieran Kean, Part III_

* * *

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	2. Combat Evaluation: The Lady Warlord

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Combat Evaluation: Lady Warlord Yan T'Ravt**

 _AIS record of a Nightwind assassination attempt and subsequent evaluation_

* * *

 _ **Attempt Recap**_

...from the records we were given from RI, and the data our own agents discovered, the Nightwind still hasn't seemed to learn the lesson that T'Ravt isn't a typical member of the Asari aristocracy. They keep coming after her expecting her to fight like a Matriarch, volleys of raw biotic power backed up by powerful barriers, and vulnerable to close-in engagements. Instead they get a nasty gutter-fighter who learned how to kill in the Traverse during its chaotic century.

To summarize, within two minutes of entering the mall complex in which the Warlord was indulging herself, the entire team was eliminated despite managing to bypass the Talon team on bodyguard detail. Manners of death listed below.

 **Agent One:** Killed three seconds after approaching too closely to her target, T'Ravt took her head off with a sword concealed within her dress.

 **Agent Two:** Killed eight seconds later, vending machine was thrown biotically and crushed her against a wall.

 **Agent Three:** Killed four seconds later, the Warlord threw her sword with biotic propulsion and embedded it into her skull.

 **Agent Four:** Survived an additional thirty seconds by using a biotic charge to close to hand-to-hand range. Beheaded when the warlord disengaged long enough to draw a second sword (also concealed in her dress).

 **Agent Five:** Attempted to corral the target with biotics. The Warlord used a biotic charge to leap directly upwards to land on a ledge five stories up. Agent followed and was greeted with a biotic nullification grenade, subsequently fell to her death.

 **Agent Six:** Supervising agent pursued at a longer distance. Successfully dodged second sword throw. Did not anticipate being tackled into a store via a biotic charge. Subsequently strangled to death by a belt grabbed from a display.

* * *

 _ **Weapons Evaluation**_

 _Biotic Talent_

As an Asari matron, T'Ravt is at a level above nearly any human biotic, but by the standards of her own species and age group, she is relatively weak. She had no known affinity for warpfire or its derivatives, and her singularities are rather low in duration. She has also never been noted to utilize more esoteric powers.

What she does have is an absolute talent for material redirection via biotic throws and pulls, to an almost obscene degree. Assume that any object weighing less than one metric ton that is not physically bolted into the ground is something that she can and absolutely will throw at an opponent if given any sort of opportunity.

 _Blades_

This is the third noted occasion where T'Ravt has been seen utilizing multiple blades, and the second where they were concealed within the dress or robes that she was wearing at the time. Questioning Asari blades-mistress on the subject revealed that her swordplay is utterly lacking in any form of elegance or grace, but is brutally practical and exhibits very little wasteful motion.

It was likely self-taught by experience during her early mercenary years, and has only been moderately refined through further practice since. While she would likely be no match for an Asari expert in a raw blades duel, she would be more than any N7 operative could handle.

 _Ranged Weaponry_

Aside from anything that happens to be nearby at the time, T'Ravt's preference seems to be for middle-weight pistols. This frees up her off-hand for a blade or for fine biotic control. RI data indicates that she visits shooting ranges bi-daily to keep in practice, and must be considered a crack-shot at most engagement ranges.

As someone who has spent most of her Matron stage fleeing from her own people, it is also prudent to assume that she will have numerous anti-biotic weapons on her person at any given time. Nullification grenades in particular are utilized to stutter enemy powers long enough for her to eliminate them as a threat or to flee.

 _Fighting Style_

While she might call herself a 'Lady', and act with all of the same aristocratic pomp of an Asari elder, do not for a moment be fooled into thinking that this extends to any facet of her fighting style. For all of her claims to civility of bearing, when the gloves come off T'Ravt is as nasty as they come. Her goal in any fight is to kill or hideously harm her opponent as quickly as possible so that they are no longer a threat to her.

Further, she is an extremely prudent and intelligent being. If placed in a situation where she is disadvantaged, she has no hang-ups about fleeing in order to survive another day.

* * *

 _ **Fighting Style & Recommendations**_

If we are ever called upon to eliminate her, I must make the following recommendations based upon my observations. This is assuming that her bodyguards can either be eliminated or kept at bay prior to the attempt being made.

First, the longer the engagement range the better it will be. N7 operatives qualified as master snipers would be required as she is likely to break into biotic-assisted movement as soon as she realizes the threat. Her personal barriers and tendency to wear armor when in public make a single-shot kill highly unlikely, and would likely require her protections to be worn down by other units before the attempt is made.

Second, T'Ravt absolutely _will_ retreat to a secure position if she is not confident of victory. Either our engagement team must be light enough to entice her to remain (dangerous as there is every likelihood that she will kill them all), or they must appear to be so overwhelming that they drive her to flee towards a predestined trap where she can be eliminated.

Three, we should utilize a team with minimal biotics. Most biotics are heavily over-reliant on their powers (especially N7 adepts). And with her extensive experience in eliminating Nightwind kill teams, any human biotic or group of biotics would be little more than practice for her. Any biotics included in the squad should primarily be concerned with ridding the battlefield of anything that she might utilize as a weapon, and harassing her from _extreme_ distances.

* * *

 _ **End Report**_

* * *

 _Just a quick little thing to get this story started. Some of these will be far longer, others will be at about this size._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	3. Combat Evaluation: Emperor Ganar Yulaz

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Combat Evaluation: Emperor Ganar Yulaz**

Broker Report 197-N-TA-BP-1087D

Broker,

The following is all of the data we have on the founder of the Blood Pack mercenary organization, and now apparently the second Krogan Empire. As you have other agents who specialize in political and industrial analyzation, I will focus on his combat abilities and his general military skills.

Agent Sun's Shadow

* * *

 _ **Leadership Style and Broad Tactics**_

Ganar is what Krogan call a 'true' warlord, in the sense that he is both a natural born biotic and a clan leader. Originally raised by the clan's loremaster, he was deeply indoctrinated in the myths of Krogan superiority and their right to rule those weaker than themselves. While he was not old enough to fight in the rebellions, the severe losses brought on by the war and the genophage combined to enable him to size control of the Ganar clan.

This history has heavily affected his preferred methods of violent conflict. He disdains any tactic or method of operation that does not strike him as 'properly Krogan' in origin. However, while modern thinkers may think this means he is unsubtle and fond of pointless mass-assault tactics would do well to remember that the Krogan Empire wasn't without it's great strategists.

They adapted their own tactics and battle plans to maximize their advantages over first the Asari and Salarians, and then the Turians, as the war dragged on. This was much to the Salarian's frustration in particular, as any clever stratagem almost never worked twice. If they, and he, have a weakness it is in improperly evaluating things such as logistical problems and how to properly exploit resources and local assets after achieving victory.

One must also note the difference between Ganar and those Krogan who follow him. While many attempt to replicate his tactics, they often do little more than copy his general actions without understanding the thoughts behind them.

 _Unit Tactics_

Most of Ganar's large unit tactics rely on the simple assumption that his forces are going to outnumber his enemies, and consist of a mixture of Vorcha fodder and Krogan elites. While in most situations the broad attacks by hordes of Vorcha and war varren as little more than pointless wastes of life, when Ganar himself is directing the attack that could not be more wrong.

Ganar will monitor every detail about an attack's progress, from the rate at which his Vorcha are dying to the exact locations where most of them are falling, and where possible, the weapons utilization and loadout of the enemy. Each subsequent attack will then be made with a slight variation to exploit perceived weaknesses.

In a typical situation, more elite Vorcha will exchange weapons for those more likely to be useful against a specific opponent, and sappers will be positioned to best breach weak points in the enemy lines. Firebases will be confronted head on with Krogan, pinning enemy elites in place to be surrounded and killed.

 _Leadership_

Ganar's leadership style varies heavily depending on the species in question. His fellow Krogan are treated respectfully, especially those younger than himself. Several recordings show him treating them almost like his own children, patiently teaching them everything from combat tactics to walking them through the ancient legends of Tuchanka. He often wades personally into combat to remind his kin that he is a living legend, a True Krogan, and earns their loyalty by living by his own creed.

The appearance of an almost paternal elder vanishes when confronted with an alien, _any_ alien, replaced with an almost stereotypical Krogan brutality. If anything the notion that lesser species are actually sapient never ceases to alternatively amuse or irritate him, and aliens are expected to be neither seen nor heard in his presence. Failure to maintain anything less than perfection is reason for summary execution, and his headquarters is known to go through slaves at a horrid rate.

The sole exception to this trend is Asari, who he regards as _almost_ good enough to be considered actual people.

* * *

 _ **Personal Capabilities**_

As with most other Krogan who emulate the old ways, Ganar most commonly wields a biotic warhammer. He does break with convention by wearing a partially powered exosuit rather than traditional plating.

His personal strength is, as one would expect for his species and age, prodigious. When enhanced by his armor, there are few targets that he cannot simply batter his way through via brute strength impacts from his warhammer. In those circumstances where he cannot, or more likely, when his enemies are fleeing for their lives, he will resort to broad-spectrum biotic attacks.

Shockwaves are his personal specialty. Rather than attempting any form of finesse, he overcharges them with enough brute strength to pulverize everything in a broad arc in front of him. The end result is an appearance more like several cresting waves rolling out from him rather than successive blasts, and the sight of so much biotic power lashing out is enough to unnerve even hardened Asari.

 _Tactics_

His personal tactics are, almost always, some variation on close with the enemy and crush them with his warhammer. Ganar is aware of the predictability of his usual routine, but sees little reason to change given that he has yet to meet an opponent who could force him to do so. He rarely reaches the point of blood raging, being in sufficient control of himself and rarely seeing a point to unleashing the berserker fury.

If anything, the almost contemptuous ease with which he deals with personal opponents leads him to become lazy and try to draw out the fights longer to maximize his enjoyment. To date, there are only a handful of recorded instances where other Krogan were able to force him to fight all out. Of the aliens he has slaughtered, though dismissive of nearly all of them, he has been known to speak poetically of his battles against the ancient Asari Warlords who ruled the Terminus before his and Raik Vols' arrival.

Unfortunately, as these events occurred so many centuries ago, there is little to no recorded evidence remaining of those battles. Given the known power of the first Warlords, I can only assume that Ganar is actively restraining his power in nearly all of his battles, attempting to lower himself to the level of his opponents in order to try and remember what those ancient duels felt like.

Given the levels of strength he has habitually demonstrated, the notion that this is him _holding back_ is mildly terrifying to contemplate. I can, in no circumstances recommend that any Broker team _ever_ be dispatched to eliminate him.

* * *

 _ **End Report**_

* * *

 _And covering a bit of Ganar Yulaz, since he really hasn't gotten any information despite being the leader on the other side of the war._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	4. Combat Evaluation: Jona Sederis

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Combat Evaluation: Mistress of the Eclipse, Jona Sederis**

Matriarch Lidanya,

As per your request, I have re-opened the evaluations our office compiled regarding Jona Sederis and have begun to update them based upon modern data. My additional comments will be noted.

Spectre Jaguraundi

* * *

 _ **Known Influences**_

Jona Sederis joined a huntress's cabal on Thessia at the age of fifty-two. Her initial instructors were severely impressed by her level of biotic power even as a maiden, but did note that her focus tended to wax and wane in a fashion that made control difficult. While they attempted to improve this, she additionally received specialized training to place her in a supporting role amidst her general team.

Known tactics distilled from official training:

\- Specialized training in 'arcing' shockwaves that allowed her to act as biotic artillery

\- Utilizing biotic-enhanced movement to keep enemies at a distance

\- Extended training in rifles

She officially received the title of huntress at the age of sixty and joined one of Thessia's many cabals. Served with honor until electing to voluntarily resign at the age of one hundred and twenty seven. No official reason given. _Update: Likely resigned due to boredom and disgust with her fellow huntresses, most of whom join simply for prestige rather than for any real desire to serve the Republics or enjoyment of battle._

At least one decade passed where she acted as an independent mercenary in the Traverse, after which she arrived at Aethyta T'Voth's complex to join her second attempt at reforming the Republics' military. There she trained heavily with Turian military experts and veteran Krogan warriors. Despite 'graduating' after a decade of training, she remained as an instructor for the following half-century, leaving when the Council of Matriarchs and Republics Leadership ordered the facility shuttered.

Known traits picked up during this time frame:

\- Videos of training she lead shows distinct Krogan influence in terms of rapid, overwhelming attacks and a preference for short-range combat

\- First known recorded instance of her managing multiple biotic attacks simultaneously

 _Update: This is quite likely when her anger-management issues began. Daily exposure to Krogan combined with her mentor's own rage towards the Republics likely began to expose a natural instability. Recordings of sparring matches during the last years show a maiden barely in control of herself or her biotic powers._

Records of her movements become sporadic over the following several centuries. She is believed to have served in Raik Vol's army on Omega for at least a few decades in the 1700s, but was seen with several different mercenary groups in the Terminus and Traverse across the latter half of that century and sporadically through the 1800s.

\- A few surviving videos and reports indicate a woman who was little more than a functional psychopath with severe bipolar tendencies.

\- She is believed to have stabilized thanks to bonding with a Xenthan Turian, having her first daughter with him, only to regress after his death.

 _Update: This was Sederis during her early Matron years, her combat techniques being groomed by experience. She is believed to have killed three Krogan Warlords, seven Batarian Ha'diq, five fellow Asari warlords, and uncountable numbers of lesser opponents._

By the time she arrived on Illium, and met the T'Laria family of mind-healers who began to work with her, her combat techniques had more or less stabilized in their current format.

* * *

 _ **Weaponry & Melee Capability**_

While Sederis is rated as lethal with shotguns, rifles, and pistols, she rarely uses them, preferring to rely on her biotics and hand-to-hand combat. The few occasions where she relies more on ranged weapons have universally been when temporarily deprived of her biotics due to nullification grenades, and only until her body recovers sufficiently to return to her preferred combat style.

In regards to unarmed techniques, she is rated as a Master Huntress in the Crushing Wind style. A combination of traditional Asari methodology and Turian military routine, it heavily emphasizes the deflection of incoming attacks, then retaliation with quick strikes and throws.

 _Update: Prior to her second mental collapse, she was known to bring in experts to train her in the latest updates to the style to ensure it was effective against most known species. However in the century since there is no known instance where this occurred. It is possible that her skills in this region have atrophied, but given her prodigious biotic power I can't imagine that it bothers her overmuch._

* * *

 _ **Biotic Talent**_

Jona Sederis is in the top percentile of Asari biotics, possessing more raw power and reserves as an elder Matron than even most Matriarchs. However, unlike most Asari she disdains the concepts of finesse and elegance, preferring to cause as much destruction as possible in order to shock and overwhelm her opponents. That is not to say that she is incapable of fine control. If the situation calls for it she is more than capable of focusing her power in almost surgical strikes.

 _Shockwave_ – Her most preferred attack, its is theorized that Warlord Raik Vol (Now Patriarch) personally instructed her in the Krogan methods of enhancing its power. When combined with her ability to 'arc' them (sharpest recorded turn is 40 degrees), and her unusual ability to throw more than one of them out at a single time, it makes it nearly impossible for enemies to remain in cover or close the distance upon her. _Update: Video exists of her literally bringing buildings down and flipping tanks over with this power._

 _Singularities –_ Much like her shockwaves, her singularities are both massive in scope and highly unstable. She has somehow adapted the technique in a way that causes it to detonate rather than dissipate, even if it is not struck with other biotic energy.

 _Flares –_ While not at Aria T'Loak's level, Sederis has been recorded as utilizing biotic flares. She seems to enjoy the concussive blast more than the actual damage, and uses them as bright and noisy distractions to disrupt enemy positions rather than to outright kill opponents.

 _Warpfire_ – Sederis's sole finesse maneuver, she is capable of concentrating her warp attacks in needles of dark energy no thicker than a few centimeters wide. The resulting 'lance' is capable of breaching nearly any target's barriers thanks to its concentrated power, and has been recorded of ripping through a Krogan warlord's armor with ease. It's speed marks it as nearly unavoidable out to one hundred meters (depending on her aim). _Update: While likely her most dangerous technique, especially given the deep reserves that allow her use this ability repeatedly and often, she has been quoted as describing it as 'boring' and thus only utilizes it if she is actually being forced to fight all out._

 _Throws –_ She has no real affinity for this technique, even though it is among the most basic. Her general lack of focus causes her throws to be more akin to a wide-area push. While capable of getting several enemies away from her rather rapidly thanks to her power, she is incapable of throwing specific objects without also hurling everything around them.

 _Biotic Movement –_ Her biotic 'charges' are unremarkable beyond her ability to utilize them to maneuver at speed. _Update: After speaking with Tela Vasir, I believe this is grossly in error. While she lacks my fellow Spectre's obscene speed, the effort does not seem to tax her at all, allowing Sederis to control the battle by closing the distance or increasing the range as she desires._

* * *

 _ **End Report**_

* * *

 _And just to remind everyone that Sederis is a ludicrously powerful badass, even though we haven't seen her fight since AR Terminus. Next pair of chapters will go over the exact organization of the Eclipse and T'Ravt's empires. Might go into Aria's after that, or on another topic entirely. Not sure._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	5. Organization: Xenthan Empire

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Empire of the Lady Warlord, Organizational Format**

 _Taken from a primer given to AIS operatives during training._

* * *

 _ **Governmental Organization**_

The modern Xenthan Empire was formed by the merger of Warlord Shin Hakar's organization with that of Lady Warlord Yan T'Ravt's. The two briefly worked as joint heads of state for roughly seven years before Hakar was killed in battle with the Blood Pack in the eastern Terminus. Much as the Hakar clan did during their century of rule on Xentha, T'Ravt has continued to utilize the hybrid Turian-Batarian governmental style that they utilized.

 _Basic Organization_

 _(Updated notation: Numbers are pre-war)_

 **Head of State:** Lady Warlord Yan T'Ravt

 **Garden Worlds:** Xentha, Theodosius, Marcian, Antiva, Anderfel

\- 46 Xenthan Vassals, total population 2 billion

\- 1 Theodosian Vassal, total population 7 million

\- 9 Marcian Vassals, total population 5 million

\- 26 Antivan Vassals, total population 127 million

\- 16 Anderfellian Vassals, total population 42 million

 **Class A Colonies:** 17

 **Class B Colonies:** 15

 **Class C Colonies:** 39

 _Xenthan Government_

Xentha itself is currently divided into forty-seven distinctive zones of control, with the Lady Warlord herself controlling Celthani and most of the southern continent's eastern seaboard. Of the remaining forty six, the breakdown is as follows;

One Terminus Quarian Elder (appointed by internal vote in the Old District)

Thirty One Turians (seventeen hereditary dictators, eleven appointed via internal meritocracy, three lesser warlords)

Fourteen Batarians (evenly divided between hereditary _Ha'diq_ and those who seized the title.)

All are forced to swear fealty to T'Ravt upon taking their title, and are expected to provide both taxes and manpower for her armed forces based upon the volume of territory they control and the overall population in that same region. Infighting between the various groups is tacitly tolerated provided that long-term damage is not done to the planetary infrastructure, and so long as the tithes continue to be paid. Beyond that, each local lord is allowed to rule over their territory as they see fit.

A note on the vassal count, this is a twenty-seven percent decrease since her initial take-over. T'Ravt actively attempting to gather more power to herself and to those vassals that she believes to be explicitly loyal to herself. As a, fairly young, Asari she simply sees no need to rush the process. It is likely that within two centuries she will have transformed her current nation into an more typical Imperial format, assuming that she survives that long.

 _Government Officials_

Although T'Ravt does not have the extensive supporting organization that groups such as the Eclipse have, she does at least make a token effort to have a civilian bureaucracy to support her military. This group is, by more traditional governmental standards, extremely lean in numbers and chronically overworked, but they are responsible for managing her financial income and internal logistics.

The sole exception is the offices on Xentha, which are, if anything, over-staffed. The vast majority of them are Terminus Quarians that she has recruited specifically for their acerbic nature and distrust of aliens. While there is some corruption, nearly all of it flows into improving the Old District, and her tacit toleration is part of her ongoing effort to ingratiate herself with that population.

From what we have been able to determine, they are organized by 'branch offices', of which each of her vassals has one directly assigned to their territory, with a 'senior' group managing the entire colony or system. These in turn report to the group attached to her palace in Celthani, which provides her with weekly updates on her economy and finances.

 _Updated notation: Internal Policing_

While she has typically relied upon her military to act as both her armed forces as well as her internal police force, the war and several 'dishonorable' scandals have forced her to heavily re-evaluate. Current intelligence indicates that the former members of the Blue Sun's elite Legionnaire ranks are being groomed to take up positions similar to political officers in order to maintain loyalty in her armed forces.

Additionally, the rank and file of the few remaining Blue Sun units are being broken apart in order to be rededicated to acting as observers and investigative teams to insure that her vassals are staying in line. These forces will likely be attached to the governmental branches to give them muscle independent of her military units.

 _Military Organization – Army_

The Warlord's army consists of two 'building block' units, the organization of which she inherited from the Hakar family's army. (see below for descriptions) Prior to that point her armed forces were more in line with Asari hunting group patterns. Regiments are named for whatever planet they were raised on.

Organizationally she has no dedicated formations larger than a regiment. Armies are created, disbanded, and reorganized on an ad-hoc basis as required. As such, her Generals are sent out to be be given control of all armed forces assigned to a single planetary campaign, and return to Xentha once the campaign is over. Those senior officers not out on campaign are then used as an ad-hoc advisory staff.

This procedure ensures that no one army will become more loyal to a single General than to her over multiple campaigns. Unfortunately it also ensures that there is very little rapport between the senior generals and the colonels beneath them unless they have a prior relationship.

In terms of payment, she utilizes a Roman-style model. Upon completion of their term of service (typically fifteen years), rank and file soldiers can expect an apartment or home paid off for life on one of her colonies. Officers are given either a local business to own or payment sufficient to purchase such, and larger real estate allotments. Generals and Colonels are placed in positions of power in districts or cities.

 _First-Rate Units_ : In total will have somewhere between one thousand and fifteen hundred soldiers, organized into five companies and a headquarters detachment. Notable in that they are combined-arms units, including their own light artillery support, a small armored detachment, and other supporting units.

 _Second-Rate Units_ : Essentially large rifle regiments with integrated artillery, they lack scouting and armored units and are believed to mostly be defensive units. Organizationally they are built around five 'formations', each of which will have five companies.

 _Military Organization – Navy_

As most of the 'greater' Warlords do, T'Ravt takes a much more personal hand in controlling her navy in comparison to her army. It is not uncommon for her to accompany any major fleet movement, particularly including her dreadnoughts, in order to oversee the effort.

Unlike her army, her naval forces do have dedicated formations based around her garden worlds. Each of these fleets is named after its world in question and is commanded by an Fleet Commander. Task forces to attack enemy locations are almost always drawn from the nearest fleet. In peace-time (or what passes as such in the Terminus), her fleet's primary duty was to protect the general shipping between her planets from predation. A secondary objective was to operate as raiders themselves, primary against her rival primary rivals in the Blood Pack.

Ship's crews are given the same retirement packages as her soldiers, though the terms of service are longer (twenty years instead of fifteen). They can also expect far more considerate care and salaries during their time in the service in order to discourage mutinies and grumblings (by Terminus standards, only Aria offers a higher yearly salary for her sailors). All of her dreadnought captains in particular are treated as royalty, and are showered with luxuries (believed to include invitations to her bed) in order to make sure that they remain loyal.

* * *

 _Report shifts focus to economic data, then possible routes of infiltration for agents._

* * *

 _ **End Report**_

 _Just a quick little primer on how T'Ravt's empire is setup, and how it remains largely in flux given it's relative 'youth' in comparison to more entrenched warlords like Aria or Ganar. Next chapter will be on the Eclipse's organization._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	6. Organization: The Eclipse

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **The Eclipse**

Broker,

At your request, I have compiled the latest organizational chart of the Eclipse. This is more difficult than it sound because of the nature of the group, serving the dual roles of being both a Citadel-Approved Private Military Corporation, as well as the personal army of Jona Sederis in her role as a Terminus Warlord.

As such, the 'official' chart provided by the group is of limited value, and I have elected to not use it in favor of simple exposition.

The Observer

* * *

 **Current Separation by Commands**

 **Mistress of the Eclipse:** Jona Sederis.

\- Acts as dictator over all facets of the Eclipse.

 **High Admiral of the Eclipse:** Leska Sederis

\- Commands all naval assets in the Terminus.

 **Chairwoman, Eclipse PMC:** Ithiri Sederis

\- Due to Jona's current criminal status in Citadel Space, Ithiri 'officially' runs the Eclipse

* * *

 **Official PMC Branches**

Each branch of the Eclipse's 'legitimate' side is allowed to recruit its own members and largely run its own affairs. The Citadel, Bekenstein, and Tehssian branches largely act as traditional mercenary groups and rarely take criminal contracts. In comparison, the Omega branch is a glorified drug distribution network, and the Illium branches are somewhere between the two extremes (though their 'initiation rite' remains... unique.)

 **Illium;**

\- Nos Astra: Huntress Revai T'Voth

\- Nos Irrail: Huntress Asal T'Shan

 **Thessia:** Captain Feria T'Narial

 **Omega:** Captain Jaroth

 **Citadel:** Captain Trehen

 **Bekenstein:** Captain Amanda Roe

* * *

 _ **Terminus - Governmental Approach**_

The Eclipse maintains a very hands-off approach to governing the Terminus colonies that they control. As they have a steady supply of recruits from maidens in the Republics looking for excitement, they have very little need to conscript locals, removing one of the major points of conflict that Warlords face with their subservient populations. Instead they primarily focus on maintaining just enough semblance of law and order in order to tax imports and exports, and only look to take direct control of important industries. Even in those situations they typically leave the locals in power, simply providing 'protection' to ensure that they are given their proper cut.

This has, oddly enough, lead them to being one of the more preferred groups to operate under. The common Terminus citizen on a world controlled by the Eclipse could go their entire life without every needing to interact with their rulers, or even truly being aware that the Eclipse is even on their planet beyond having to pay a few credits in taxation at the end of each Citadel year.

A side-effect of this hands-off policy is that these same populations have no real loyalty to the Eclipse in turn. Where Aria, Zaen, or T'Ravt could whip up mobs or militia who genuinely believe that their rulers are better than whatever invader is coming, the Eclipse has no such reserve of goodwill (deserved or not) to draw upon. It is typically only after the Eclipse has been removed from a world that the population realizes just how good they had it, and by that point it is too little, too late.

* * *

 _ **Terminus – Supporting Organization**_

Separate from the rank and file soldiers is a pair of groups referred to as the 'Morning Eclipse' and the 'Evening Eclipse'. Each is tasked with differing levels of care for the rank and file.

The Morning Eclipse is primarily tasked with 'hard' tasks. Engineers, accountants, and logistical officers are all located within this organization. In comparison, the Evening Eclipse focuses more on health and recovery. Carefully monitored drug dealers, mind-healers, doctors, and prostitutes ensure that the troops are kept content and reasonably healthy.

Put together and these two supporting groups are actually a much larger organization than the Eclipse proper. They are also the most likely location to find non-Asari recruits. While the Eclipse does allow for other species to join, currently combat units are still averaging nearly 80% Asari membership, in comparison the supporting units average 45% Asari.

* * *

 _ **Terminus – The Golden Armada**_

The majority the Eclipse's gross income comes from protection money and tithes taken from shipping traversing between the Republics and Illium, and then from Illium to Omega. In order to maintain control of this lucrative route, most of this money is spent on maintaining the so-called 'Golden Armada' of the Eclipse.

The core of this fleet consists of old warships purchased from the Republics. While older, the advanced nature of Asari technology and construction techniques means that even these old ships are often more than a match for Terminus rivals, and can fight on-par with most Citadel forces if the situation called for it.

Commanded by Leska Sederis, the fleet is typically divided into two primary detachments. The larger of which remains near Illium, earning massive draws of protection money from the world's Board of the Directors and ensuring that the corporate planet is not raided by the less civilized members of the Terminus systems. The second major detachment operates out of Omega, insuring that ships using the Illium relay pay up front.

Smaller flotillas are scattered along the less-traveled routes between the two systems, operating near secondary relays or common discharge sites.

* * *

 _ **Terminus – Military Assets**_

The Eclipse's ground forces in the Terminus are kept separate from the PMC units. Units are organized as their senior officer wishes them to be, leading to the occasional moment of confusion as some prefer Turian/Human company and regimental formations, while others utilize Asari cabals and hunting groups.

In either case, there are two differing groups within the Eclipse's Terminus army. The more common sub-section are the units who are permanently assigned to a single world as their garrisons. These units tend to be proportional in size to the population of whatever colony they are on. Tiny Class C worlds may only have a few dozen soldiers, while Class A worlds will have several thousand. Planetary commanders report directly to the main headquarters on Illium.

The second group is Sederis's personal army, and is regarded as one of the more elite groups in the Terminus systems. Before the Blue Suns war began, the group was roughly fifty-thousand strong and their numbers were dropping. Wartime reallocation from garrison units, combined with the Eclipse's strident success in that fighting, ballooned those numbers up to nearly four-hundred thousand. The fighting against Ganar's new Krogan Empire has again seen a nearly tidal rise, with estimated numbers encroaching upon one million with even more training centers being built on Illium.

* * *

 _ **Notes; Military expansion**_

The growth of the Eclipse's army is extremely worrying as their active role in the fighting seems to be winding down with Zaen's death. We expected a downturn in recruiting, but Sederis is, if anything _increasing_ her efforts. Internal numbers floated indicate that she expects to have a two million Asari-strong army by the end of 2185. Why she is doing this, and what that army is going to be used for, remains unknown.

If that news wasn't enough, Leska Sederis has been seen negotiating with Warlord die Waffe, Lady Warlord T'Ravt, and corporate ship builders on Illium. Projections and known down-payments point to a concentrated effort to _double_ the size of the Golden Armada by 2186.

The Sederis clan is either preparing to move on Aria, or they know something that we do not. If there is any evidence that the Republics or the Citadel are preparing to move against her, I would wish to know so that I can make a more effective guess as to why Sederis is undertaking the largest military buildup in centuries.

* * *

 _ **Final notes: The Sederis Clan**_

 **Jona Sederis:** Terminus Warlord and founder of the Eclipse PMC, I see no need to once again try and peer into the depths of this woman's history. My only comment is that your assertion that she is not nearly as unstable as she makes herself appears to be correct. I have found evidence that a mind healer has been kept on retainer for several Illium years, and very discreet purchases of drugs commonly used to treat a variety of mental conditions.

 **Leska Sederis** : Jona's eldest daughter by way of a Xenthan Warlord, Leska is in many ways even more dangerous than her mother or younger sister. Extremely erudite and cultured, she is capable of charming nearly everyone she meets. This gentle surface hides blades of ice beneath its waves, worsened by the fact that Leska has inherited all of her mother's prodigious biotic power. Most fights she has been in have lasted mere seconds as she utilizes the same warpfire 'Lance' her mother has been seen using to simply execute her opponent before they can react rather than waste time actually battling them. (Note, she is more than capable of fighting in a prolonged engagement, she simply doesn't enjoy it like her sister and mother do).

 **Ithiri Sederis:** Jona's younger daughter, she is every bit the wild mercenary that her elder sister is not. Brash, boisterous, and loud in a way that shocks people used to more demure and sensual Asari, she enjoys fighting and violence for the simple rush of it. This has lead to more than a few feuds with her more reserved sister, and to say that the two hate one another is a disservice to the word. However, much to Leska's frustration, Ithiri is no less intelligent and cunning than her sister. As much as she enjoys a good brawl, she knows when to rein in her impulses and simply deal with a problem.

* * *

 **End Report**

* * *

 _Just a quick little bit of exposition on the Eclipse. Not sure what's going to come next here, feel free to request things or else I'll add more whenever I think of something that would be good to add._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	7. Organization: Aria T'Loak

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Organization of Aria T'Loak, ruler of Omega**

Illusive Man,

As part of our ongoing pivot towards the Terminus systems, my team has compiled the following basic report on Aria T'Loak. This file is intended to be able to be provided to any operative or agent being assigned to my cell or the other new cells being created in wild space. I will not rehash her history, what little of it is known has been examined to death elsewhere.

Operative Howard

* * *

 **Territorial Assets**

While Aria is most famous for controlling the Omega space station and its attendant relay hub, she does also possess a small swathe of colonial assets. These are located beyond a relay that she personally ordered open specifically to exploit new stellar clusters. Currently the majority of these colonies are believed to be fairly small, but new ones are being founded at a rapid pace.

We believe that she ordered this to occur a few decades after she consolidated her rule of Omega. While she was able to seize the station itself from Raik Vol, the old Krogan had had his own empire spread out across the Terminus which was largely carved up by the other Warlords then active. And though Omega provided her with a great source of wealth and prestige, the station could neither feed itself nor provide her with sufficient manpower to create a personal army.

As the Black Fleet maintains a constant blockade around the primary relay leading to her colonial zone, the numbers below are estimations based upon rumor, interrogation of traders allowed through, and economic evaluations. The exact location of the star cluster (or clusters) including these worlds is equally as unknown, but is believed to be somewhere in the southern quadrant of the Terminus.

 **Garden Worlds:**

\- Chehenarth (estimated population of 150 million, primarily Asari)

\- Zand (estimated population of 50 million, primarily Batarian)

\- Possible third (name & population unknown)

 **Class A Colonies:** 5 (+/- 3)

 **Class B Colonies:** 11 (+/- 7)

 **Class C Colonies:** 27 (+/- 5)

Primarily these worlds seem to be agrarian in nature, their main exports being the food used to feed Omega and much of the northern and eastern quadrants of the Terminus (pirates not making terribly good farmers). Secondary exports likely include the rare earths and metals utilized in warship construction, and are shipped to either Omega's shipyards or to Warlord die Waffe's Stormwall and Conquest shipyards.

We have no data on how these worlds are governed at this time. If we are using Omega as a basis, we could assume that Aria's military also acts as her governmental body, with whatever senior officers are present effectively running each colony.

 _Economy_

The vast majority of Aria's wealth comes from the eezo trade from Omega's mines, and likely from smaller such mines located in her colonial region. Major buyers are corporate interests on Illium, the Batarian Hegemony, her fellow Warlords, and Citadel space's black markets. Supplemental income is brought in in terms of small cuts taken from traders who dock with her station, exports from her colonial region, and from payments given by the gangs and major mercenary groups allowed to operate on her station.

* * *

 **Political Relations**

Unlike nearly every other Warlord in the Terminus, Aria appears to be an extremely astute politician. She has successfully played of the various gangs of Omega, and other 'great' Warlords against one another for nearly two centuries without any severe challenge to her rule. This is in great contrast to her predecessor in Raik Vol, who resorted to shows of force and who engaged in no fewer than nine major conflicts in order to maintain his control of Omega.

Primarily she uses a combination of bribes, threats, and personal favors in order to maintain these relationships. Further, she also averages around a dozen 'lesser' Warlords as direct vassals. While not officially members of her network, these beings are effectively her subordinates and serve as her offensive arm for attacks not worth dispatching vessels from her primary fleet for.

 _Diplomatic Status; The major Warlords_

 **Jona Sederis** : To date, Sederis is the only Warlord who is allowed 'control' of one of Omega's primary relays (specifically the one leading to Illium). Both of these unstable Asari appear to be on very good terms with one another, and understand the delicate balance of power between them. They have been known to engage in more personal relations with one another, and it has even been hypothesized that Aria is the father to Sederis's younger daughter Ithiri (Personally I doubt this, but the rumor has apparently refused to die for several decades now).

 **Yan T'Ravt:** In contrast, Aria's relationship with the other major Asari warlord is extremely cool. T'Ravt is known to consider the older Matron to be little more than a thug with power, while Aria believes T'Ravt to be hypocritical and arrogant (A saying about pots and kettles comes to mind for the both of them). While the two might despise one another, they both retain enough sanity to coordinate their actions against common enemies.

 **Gormak:** Aria is not believed to spend much thought on the old Salarian, at least not in recent years. During his heyday roughly a decade ago, the two were known to coordinate operations against lesser warlords who were bucking the status quo, but as his age grew and his power waned, she has discreetly distanced herself from him. His refusal to become involved in the current war has effectively ended any real relationship between them, and she is believed to be negotiating with his subordinates regarding what they intend to do when their master passes on.

 **Heinrich Bauer:** This traitor is quite probably Aria's closest political ally, beyond even Sederis. His rapid seizure of the Terminus's largest shipyards and monopolization of that trade greatly impressed her, and he in turn recognizes her as the most powerful of the current warlords. The two trade heavily, with Aria providing eezo and rare materials for construction, and Bauer providing her with warships, trading vessels, and combat mechs in return.

* * *

 **Armed Forces**

To my great surprise, Aria's armed forces are actually extremely professional and well trained in nature. Considering her apparent adoration for chaos and freedom, this is all the more confounding when combined with her micro-managing nature. All indications are that she is almost obsessive about directing her army and navy's operations to a level that General Petrovsky calls her a greater hindrance to her own forces than her enemy's plans are.

The results of the Blue Suns War, in particular how dismally her forces operated despite their technological advantages, seems to have inspired some level of self-realization, with Aria making at least some effort to grant levels of autonomy to her subordinates.

 _The Black Fleet_

Aria's navy, the so-called Black Fleet of the Terminus, is currently the fourth largest such group in the Terminus. While she has significantly fewer vessels than Bauer or T'Ravt, and slightly less warships than the Eclipse, this has never been a severe issue for her. Her fleet is used to defend Omega, and has never been called to engage in large-scale offensive operations without having at least one or more other powerful Warlords moving in concert with it.

To writ, Aria requires the following of her fleet: One, it must be able to defend Omega against any single other Warlord. Two, it must be able to convincingly blockade at least four of the Saharabarik's system's relays at any one time.

Observation indicates that, at any given time, perhaps half of her capital ships are 'on patrol' near Mass Relays, while the remainder are docked at Omega's upper levels. These vessels are almost always surrounded by escorting destroyers and frigates which prevent any unauthorized vessel from approaching the dreadnoughts.

Smaller flotillas lead by Hegemony-built heavy cruisers are typically used to ensure that trade ships passing through the system are stopped in order to ensure that tithes are paid. Failure to stop and accept being boarded is grounds to be destroyed, something that occurs perhaps one a month as someone attempts to run through the system.

The fleet as a whole is currently commanded by Oran T'Loak, who received a promotion after the debacle that was the Blue Suns war. Little is known about this exiled Asari, but she has commanded one of Aria's dreadnoughts for nearly a century, so some measure of competency and trust is expected.

 **Capital Ships:** Two Batarian pattern dreadnoughts ( _Duskblade, Hope's End_ ), one Asari pattern dreadnought _(Drowned Queen),_ four Turian pattern light-dreadnoughts ( _Blade of Darkness, End Times, Event Horizon, Executioner)_

 **Cruisers:** 117 (twenty-five Batarian pattern heavy cruisers, fifty-three destroyers, remainder are between those extremes)

 **Light Vessels:** 198 (estimated)

 _Aria's Army_

Aria's 'army' is, by the standards of the more powerful warlords, extraordinarily tiny but almost hyper-competent and equipped with the most advanced technology that her money can buy. Her ground troops can be divided into several distinct groups, though the existence of one of them is only inferred.

Much as with her naval forces, her army's primary purpose is to be able to defend Omega against anyone who would attempt to invade it. Its ability to project power is considered entirely secondary, or occasionally even tertiary towards this. Given that Omega, while massive for a space station, has a very low population, and that her colonies are likewise rather small in size, a small but elite army is likely her only real option. Unlike T'Ravt, Ganar, or Sederis she simply does not have a massive manpower pool from which she can create a standing army capable of invading heavily populated worlds.

Known instances from both the current and prior wars show an army that is trained in and fights by typical Asari patterns when not on Omega. Misdirection, assassination, sabotage, and a general refusal to properly stand and fight in order to frustrate enemies, and preferably in order to free up space in the enemy's chain of command for officers more susceptible to bribery.

On Omega itself their fighting style changes, and all of her units are expected to be extremely adept at fighting in it's pseudo-urban sprawl. Any attempt to invade the station would find their advance contested on a meter by meter basis (assuming they breached the station's ridiculous external defenses to begin with), as well as whatever mobs and gangs that Aria could summon to assist her professional forces.

 **Afterlife's Defenders:** Consisting of Asari in powered armor, Krogan, and Elcor, they serve as Aria's personal guard. Though almost never challenged on Omega, they are occasionally dispatched on missions off-station in order to make sure that their combat skills stay sharp. Though there may not be more than a hundred of them in total, words cannot describe how dangerous these beings are, especially if led in battle by their 'Queen'.

 **Omega's Knives:** Aria's 'expeditionary army' is referred to by this name. Unusual in that she relies on volunteers rather than conscripts, perhaps a third of its members are from Omega, while the remainder are drawn from her colonies. Regardless of species they are organized along Asari hunting group patterns. Wearing advanced light armor and equipped with advanced weaponry, they fight as a light commando style force.

Prior to the war this group primarily acted to defend the eezo docks near Zeta and Afterlife, a task now passed on to Zeta's garrison army. Estimated numbers are between fifty to sixty thousand.

 **Zeta District Garrison:** Though far better equipped than most Terminus rabble, this small army is never dispatched outside of the borders of it's garrison. They serve to keep her eezo miners in, and everyone else out of Zeta district. Estimated numbers are between fifty to sixty thousand.

 **Colonial Garrison:** This group's existence is only inferred, as none of our agents has successfully been able to reach her colonial region.

* * *

 **The Grid**

The 'Grid' is our internal code-name given to Aria's intelligence and internal policing force. What they call themselves is entirely unknown, our sole effort at inserting an agent saw them fed to war-varren in front of Afterlife.

What we do know is that Aria has information about the comings and goings of her station at levels far beyond what it's chaotic nature should allow for. Spectres operating under perfect aliases have been challenged to 'report' to Aria within an hour of docking, and our own agents currently have a survival estimate of _two hours_ after making any form of coded transmission. Any agent on station must operate under complete communications silence beyond dead-drops, which currently have a forty-percent discovery rate.

Either Aria has informants in nearly every gang, every block of every district, and has hackers continuously examining messages going through her FTL buoys, or she has an alternative means of information gathering. Our current guess is that it is a combination of informants placed in critical positions, along with either a hyper-focused security VI or possibly even a shackled AI that is used to monitor all communication traffic inside of the station. (I again must request to be given temporary access to either EDI or EVA in order to test this theory).

 _Troubleshooters:_ Given the number of 'incidents' that occur on station, we estimate that there must be at least fifty, perhaps as many as a hundred, specialized assassins who work to eliminate people actively undermining Aria's position. A few recorded instances (utilizing external agents hired to observe the results) seem to reveal Asari and Batarians utilizing limited active camouflage technology.

* * *

 **End Report**

* * *

 _Legendary Junk Mail requested either something on the Silver Blades or something on Aria. The Blades will be getting a broker report, but not until we're farther in Einherjar, and Aria seemed like a logical place to go after the last two chapters. This one was also a bit longer mostly because I haven't really touched on Aria much._

 _I'm again going to be in a holding pattern on this until Einherjar progresses further, but if anyone has any neat requests I'll think about throwing them in as I did for this one._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	8. Organization: Trophy Takers

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Threat Analysis: Notable Xenthan Trophy Takers**

 _Taken from AIS Briefing Notes for Terminus Agents_

* * *

As agents being assigned to the Terminus systems, the following is a basic threat assessment on notable individuals who call themselves 'Trophy Takers'. These individuals are capable of both being highly useful allies as well as extraordinarily dangerous adversaries.

Trophy Takers occupy a unique cultural position in the Terminus/Xenthan Quarian society, though the exact details and origins remain largely unknown thanks to their extreme aversion to speaking about any facet of their society. Much of what we know was uncovered by the Cerberus branch before it went rogue, but even this information is largely incomplete.

In addition to the scant general details, we will additionally focus on the five most dangerous Takers that Alliance forces have encountered.

* * *

 _ **Definition**_

By the general definition, a Xenthan Trophy Taker is a Terminus Quarian who takes totems or trophies from their combat kills, provided said kill is considered sufficiently 'impressive'. What defines an unfortunate beings 'worthiness' to have part of their remains taken as a trophy varies heavily depending upon the individual, but there are a few common themes. Krogan, for example, are almost always considered sufficiently challenging to warrant a piece of their crest being taken.

While there are numerous recorded instances of 'regular' Terminus Quarians engaging in the practice, there is a sharp difference between those individuals and those who claim the title of Trophy Taker. A common Quarian may do so if they are a soldier or fighting for their life, but 'active' Trophy Takers essentially do nothing but hunt full time.

For lack of a better comparison, most Trophy Takers can be considered to be an order of freelance assassins, or vigilantes if one is feeling charitable, who share a species and a few common traditions. Thanks to correlation between Asari Republics databases and Cerberus research; we were able to at least uncover a few commonalities.

 _Trophies_ : Trophies are to be kept relatively small, and are typically born on either a belt or necklace. Taking multiple trophies from a single target is acceptable as it provides 'spares' in case a Quarian is unable to retrieve a trophy from a target (For whatever reason).

 _Common Missions:_ The most common instance where a Trophy Taker might be countered is in a counter-slavery raid. They are, in the absence of an actual military force, the only fighting force available to Terminus Quarians in terms of freeing their kin who have been enslaved.

 _Morality:_ To put it bluntly, most Takers would be qualified as psychopaths by human standards. Even those who lower themselves to work with other species have a noted disregard for anything that we might consider 'civilized warfare'. They do not accept surrenders, bribes, or even allied requests if their mind has been made up and seem to actively enjoy killing.

 _Gaining the title:_ How the title is awarded, and how it is passed on, is entirely unknown to us. All we have from the Cerberus mission files is a vague reference to something known as 'The Calling'. Cross-referencing that with Asari and Turian historical data resulted in no relevant results, but we believe it to be significant somehow.

* * *

 _ **On Hiring/Employing**_

They will respect the letter of any agreement, but they will not respect its spirit or intent. With rare exceptions, they do not train or seek out open or active engagements, and will retreat if they encounter unexpected resistance or an unknown situation. And even if their word is given, they absolutely _will_ abandon non-Quarian allies if it means they, or other Quarians, will survive the encounter.

Contracts should be written in such a way that anticipates this type of action. Clauses to indicate that no payments will be sent if they retreat or fail to eliminate their target are common and are almost always respected. They have no qualms with large amounts of specific wording being placed into any agreement, and actively seem to respect the mere action of doing so because it implies that we are taking them seriously.

* * *

 _ **Reactions; by species**_

 **Krogan** _:_ Perhaps unsurprisingly, Krogan find Trophy Takers to be more than acceptable company even though shards of Krogan crests are amongst the highest 'status' totems that a Taker can acquire. More than one AIS agent has seen Krogan going so far as to treat these Quarians as if they themselves were Krogan. Takers, in turn, tend to treat Krogan with a kind of wary respect but seem to be able to co-habitat with the species better than most other groups.

 _Common Trophies_ **:** Crest shards

 **Batarians** _(Hegemony)_ : Hegemony born Batarians consider Trophy Takers to be somewhere just below the Lionness and the Butcher, and just above the Corsairs in terms of loathed and feared beings. Trophy Takers have been known to breach Hegemony space for their missions (and are consequently a prime source of intelligence for us), where they typically conduct assassinations of Highborn officials and demolish slaving operations.

 _Common Trophies_ **:** Teeth

 **Batarians** _(Terminus)_ : Those exiled Batarians we have been able to question on the topic are more ambivalent about these beings. Most of them seem to consider the Quarians to be little more than another organization in a region of space already fraught with similarly violent groups, and waste little time worrying about them.

 _Common Trophies_ **:** Teeth

 **Turians** _:_ As one might expect given their general culture, Turians almost universally disdain Trophy Takers, who by their very nature operate on their own and utterly disregard whatever organizations or governments happen to be nearby. Turian commando teams attempting to breach the Terminus quite often are attacked _en masse_ by Takers looking to challenge themselves.

 _Common Trophies_ **:** Claws (Hierarchy; ID Tags)

 **Humans** _:_ Our own species has a mixed reaction to these individuals. On one hand, they are extroadinarly useful allies when it comes to combating slaving operations in both the Traverse and the Terminus. But on the other, it can be difficult to remember that you are working with a being who has absolutely no regard for human decency or civility and who absolutely _will_ kill people if they believe they were insulted or if they believe it to be in their best interests.

 _Common Trophies:_ Hair braids (Terminus), Dog Tags (Alliance)

 **Asari** : Those Asari from the Republics think little of Takers, assuming they think about them at all, viewing them as little more than 'pale reflections' of Asari huntresses. Asari living or from the Terminus have a far more respectful viewpoint, and are the most common employers of Takers in non-slaving matters. More than one Asari warlord has utilized individual Takers as their personal assassins on retainer over the last several centuries.

 _Common Trophies_ **:** Finger bones

 **Salarian** _:_ The only source of intelligence we have on how the Salarian Union views them is a one-off interview of Spectre Bau three years ago; in which he indicated that an STG cell lead by one of his cousins was attempting to breach Omega, but was ambushed and killed by three Takers working together. Analysis of his exact wording and tone seems to point to this being a common form of confrontation.

 _Common Trophies_ **:** Skull fragments

* * *

 **Notable Takers**

* * *

 _ **High Elder Shar'lan vas Xentha**_

 _Age:_ 49

 _Sex_ : Male

 _Background:_ Shar'lan is the current leader of the Celthani's Old District, and represents the Terminus Quarians as Warlord T'Ravt's vassal. Prior to being elected to this position, he was a trophy taker of no small reputation and was quite active in operations in the Traverse.

 _Alliance Interaction_ : Two of our encounters with him were positive actions, involving anti-slaving operations in the Traverse. He assisted a Cerberus operation which freed ninety-seven slaves taken from Eden Prime, as well as thirty-two Terminus Quarians who had been processed by the Circle. The second saw him working with a Corsair team with a similar objective and successful result.

The third encounter was a violent interaction with a separate Corsair team near the Skyllian Verge, after a T'Ravt sponsored raid that seized several tons worth of electronic equipment from Alliance colonies. Shar'lan directed an active defense that saw the pirates easily stand off the ground attack while their ship discharged its drive core.

 _Combat Style:_ Shar'lan is a known heavy weapons expert and demolitions specialist. He prefers to engage at long range with large amounts of ordnance in order to disrupt and disperse his enemies so that they can be eliminated in detail. Combat drones and turret traps are used to secure his flanks and further keep opponents pinned in place for him to eliminate.

* * *

 _ **Elder Mala'hax vas Xentha**_

 _Age:_ 41

 _Sex_ : Female

 _Background:_ Once a member of one of T'Ravt's Talon commando teams, Mala'hax took part in the Skyllian blitz as a mercenary hired by the conglomerated pirate forces. Surviving its conclusion, she returned to Xentha where our limited intelligence as her as the Elder for her 'zone' of the Old District.

 _Alliance Interaction:_ Her only known interaction with human forces was during the Blitz. An accomplished stealth commando, she was utilized by her employers to hunt down and eliminate senior Alliance leadership prior to the direct assaults. She was directly responsible for the chaos on Elysium prior to the attack, having infiltrated the primary garrison headquarters and assassinating the entire senior command structure.

Despite certain fictional recounts of the battle, she and Commander Shepard never engaged one another in combat. When the Commander rallied the defenders near the Central Square, Mala'hax recognized the battle had turned and evacuated herself from the world.

During the Blitz, she had a confirmed kill count of two colonels, four majors, four captains, and three commanders.

 _Combat Style:_ A close quarters specialist, she prefers to approach her target by stealth using active camouflage technology that she likely scavenged from STG agents. Eliminations are accomplished by a torrent of short range grenades or a point-blank fire from a sub-machine gun. She has a noted aversion to any kind of direct combat and has been recorded as fleeing if her cover is blown or if she was unsuccessful in ambushing her target.

* * *

 _ **Trophy Taker Voya'chi vas Xentha**_

 _Age:_ 27

 _Sex:_ Female

 _Background:_ Currently a member of the Silver Blades mercenary corporation, her exact history is unknown beyond a few general details. She served time as a slave on Omega before being rescued by a Republic Intelligence team (See the file on Spectre resource Hephaestus). Since then she has operated primarily as a mercenary fighting against Ganar's faction in the current Terminus War.

 _Alliance Interaction:_ Has encountered Alliance forces on two known occasions, the first during Commander Shepard's retrieval of slaves taken from the Blood Pack raid on Horizon. While she acted as an ally in that instance, notes taken by the Commander and her subordinates indicate that she was highly volatile and actively rejected any notion of mercy or surrender. Her second encounter with Commander Shepard was less notable, instead only lasting for the duration of a short engagement with the Geth.

 _Combat Style:_ Helmet camera footage and second-hand information from Terminus news sources indicate that she is primarily a light sniper of reasonable, if not exceptional, talent. However, unlike most long-ranged specialists she retains her lethality at shorter ranges, switching to technical mines and a heavy pistol or shifting directly to close combat.

The last is believed to be her primary specialty, she is rated at extreme lethality and is believed to be a master of Khellish blade dancing.

* * *

 _ **Trophy Taker Gol'jara vas Xentha**_

 _Age:_ 28

 _Sex:_ Male

 _Background:_ Formerly an independent mercenary, we have been able to establish a passable working relationship with this particular trophy taker on such occasions when our interests align with his own. He has been operating within the Traverse for the last six years, primarily hunting down slavers who have taken members of his species.

 _Alliance Interaction:_ To date, AIS and Corsair forces have only had positive interaction with Gol'jara. That is not to say that he is a direct ally however. He has initiated all of our encounters and has, repeatedly, refused to cooperate in any other fashion beyond his own operations actively. The sole exception is intelligence that he has provided to Commander Gates during private meetings.

Currently he has participated in eight different anti-slavery operations, working with Corsair and AIS ground teams.

 _Combat Style:_ Has described himself as 'typical' for his people. Primarily utilizes short-range automatic weapons backed up by extensive technical mines, grenades, and combat drones. Will approach his target by stealth and then engage with rapid and overwhelming attacks in an attempt to resolve the battle as quickly as possible.

* * *

 _ **Trophy Taker Hesk'with**_ _ **vas Xentha**_

 _Age:_ 27

 _Sex:_ Male

 _Background:_ With Mala'hax's semi-retirement on Xentha, Hesk'with has taken her place as the most prominent of the Trophy Takers in terms of freelance assassin work. While he primarily operates in the Terminus near the Asari Republics, he has also spent several months taking contracts in the Traverse in the last year.

 _Alliance Interaction_ : As with most Terminus Quarians, we have had both positive and negative interaction with Hesk'with. The very definition of a freelance agent, he will work for anyone with sufficient credits to pay him, provided your targets are sufficiently 'interesting' to him.

We have employed him to eliminate two separate Batarian _Ha'diq_ who were known to sponsor slaving operations, as well as paying him to support a commando raid to eliminate a pirate cartel operating near the galactic rim.

Unfortunately we also believe him to be responsible for assassinating Governor Chang on Watson three years ago, as well as being behind the deaths for at least three separate Corsair Captains. Attempts to place him on retainer have failed, we believe that he is currently operating somewhere in Hegemony space on behalf of the Traditionalist movement.

 _Combat Style_ : An extremely thorough planner, he prefers set-piece style encounters and operations. Even more so than most of his kind, he actively avoids anything even remotely resembling a battlefield situation and will retreat if he is taken under even light fire.

With that said, he is a highly proficient shot with a wide variety of firearms, has an advanced understanding of poisons, and is sufficiently skilled with explosives to improvise when the situation calls for it.

* * *

 _End Notes_

* * *

 _A bit on trophy takers from an outsider's perspective, at some point I'll get around to doing a full write up on Terminus Quarians but until then this will have to do. This chapter is meant to be less 'official report' and more a trainer jotting down notes for himself, hopefully I didn't botch it up too badly, I'm horrifically out of practice with writing thanks to overwork and a badly needed vacation._

 _To that end; Einharjar is temporarily on hold while I try and gather myself, as is Strange Bedfellows ( I deleted three attempts at the latter's next chapter, none were up to my own standards ). Hopefully it won't be a long break, and I' going to try and keep expanding this in the meantime until I get my mojo back._

 _My plans for the next three chapters are to cover a few of the requests plus a few things relevant to Einherjar's story; AI's in the Terminus, Terminus military technology and soldiers compared to the Alliance/Citadel, Cerberus's hunt for the Matriarch, and what Shepard is currently up to (not nessacarily in that order)._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	9. War Analysis: Terminus I

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **War Analysis: Terminus Systems I**

Illusive Man,

Attached you will find the analysis my staff put together in regards to the threat posed by the Terminus Systems towards humanity. While I am quite sure that you will find the hard data interesting, I have also attached a summary prepared by my yeoman. If nothing else it was an excellent training activity for her, and may prove a useful primer for new recruits more used to the Alliance's Citadel-specific training.

General Petrovsky

* * *

 **Terminus Terminology**

As you have requested that this file be readable by recruits who may not be familiar with the terminology typically used to describe individuals or regions in the Terminus, I have compiled the following primer.

I will begin with a quick run down of common titles utilized by the various Warlords and an overview of Terminus space with regards to its strategic aspects.

Centurion Yoshimo Kumi

* * *

 _ **Title of Warlord**_

While so-called experts on the Citadel adore to throw the title of Warlord around, and enjoy pontificating on how there are hundreds of them, the truth is far less complex. At any given time there is somewhere between five to twelve 'Great' Warlords who control sufficient territory or wealth to mark them as legitimate national threats in their own right.

The current Terminus War makes the irritating obliviousness of the Council and Alliance Parliament even more inexcusable. Despite their repeated assurances that the 'hundreds' of Warlords allying was a near impossibility, it took Aria and Ganar less than a month to effectively divide the Terminus between their respective alliances.

 _Greater Warlord:_ Any Warlord sufficiently powerful to control either a dreadnought level capital ship or sufficient colonial assets to afford the construction of one is considered at this rank. Currently there are six, given Zaen's death on Redcliffe.

 _Lesser Warlord Titles_

 _Pirate King:_ A type of lesser warlord, typically refers to one who possesses fleet assets but few or no colonies, and relies entirely on piracy in order to pay off their subordinate. Most lesser human warlords fall into this category, as our species has not yet had the time to establish themselves more permanently.

 _Ha'diq:_ A Batarian term also used by Turians. In the context of the Terminus, is most often used by lesser warlords who control a small number of colonies and limited fleet assets. Most Turian and Batarian warlords, even lesser ones, rule by a client/vassal system. For a more expansive series of notes on this form of governance, please see the files related to Greater Warlord Yan T'Ravt.

 _Meshinvi_ : An Asari term, previously used in antiquity to refer to the controller of island territories. Now the most common term to identify lesser Asari warlords. Most Asari warlords are more direct in their control than other species (They are oddly even more tyrannical in governorship than most Batarians), but they are also far more likely to maintain tight alliances with other Warlords and are far less war-mongering.

 _Warlord:_ Krogan, perhaps unsurprisingly, reject any title other than that of Warlord regardless of how strong or weak they are.

* * *

 _ **Regions / Notable Locations**_

 _Western / Spinward Terminus –_ The quadrant of space between Illium and Omega, this region is the most heavily explored and colonized region of the Terminus thanks to four heavy migratory waves from the Asari Republics that occurred between nine and seven centuries ago. It is dominated by the Eclipse and a collection of perhaps twenty lesser Asari rulers who control small stretches of territory but are typically viewed as subordinate to Sederis or Aria (depending on their proximity to Illium or Omega respectively).

Notable feature; The Illium Way is a collection of five secondary relays that connect Illium to Omega. While there is a primary relay connection that links to the two star systems, the high tariffs applied by the Eclipse ensure that only large corporate groups can use the rapid connection. The bulk of civilian traffic thus occurs along this well known trade-line.

 _Southern / Coreward Terminus:_ This quadrant lies between Omega and the galactic core. Originally several of its star clusters were controlled by the Salarian Union as colonial regions, but were overrun during the early years of the Krogan rebellions. In more modern times it is notable for containing Xentha and the bulk of Warlord T'Ravt and Emperor Ganar's territories.

Notable Feature; The southern Terminus is unusual in that the vast majority of its colonies are not located within Relay systems. From a military standpoint it makes invading this region of space an extreme logistical challenge as it can take days or even weeks of sub-light travel to reach its core worlds.

 _Northern / Rimward Terminus:_ Occupying the slice of the galaxy between Rannoch and Omega, the Northern Terminus is the least populated quadrant largely thanks to the threat of the Geth. While the only major colony is Redcliffe, the primary military target is the Stormwall shipyards. Currently controlled by Heinrich die Waffe, they are one of only three such yards capable of producing capital warships in the Terminus.

Notable Feature; The Quarian Migrant Fleet has spent better than sixty percent of the last three centuries in this region of space thanks to heavy discriminatory efforts by the Citadel Council and its member nations. It is believed, but not confirmed, that the Admiralty Board has some form of working arrangement with die Waffe that sees Pilgrims working at the Stormwall yards in exchange for his people providing critical rare materials for the Flotilla.

 _Eastern / Anti-Spinward Terminus:_ The largest quadrant of the Terminus is also the least explored, taking the swathe of territory between Omega and Theodosius. The most 'wild' region of space, apart from the Conquest shipyards near the dark rim, and the Theodosian system, it is relatively unremarkable in terms of military targets as it is filled primarily with low-population colonies.

Notable Feature; Chaos. Excepting die Waffe's control of the Conquest yards, and T'Ravt's control of Theodosius, this sector of space is run by dozens of competing lesser warlords who spend the majority of their time attempting to dominate one another.

* * *

 **Political Considerations**

Unfortunately any examination of a potential war with the Terminus Systems must begin with the political considerations on both sides. On paper, the Alliance's military capacity would be sufficient to win a direct confrontation with any of the major Warlords individually. But as the Warlords have proven to be capable of banding together against external threats (see the Rethian Incident circa 1897 CE), it would be more likely that Earth would find itself confronting most if not all of the Warlords acting in unison.

As much as it pains me to say it, it will likely be decades (at the very least) before humanity could even begin considering engaging the Terminus on anything resembling open warfare. This is worsened by the Hegemony's reliance on trade with Omega, and would likely see them acting in concert with Aria.

Essentially all of our predictive models state that even a limited conflict between the Alliance and T'Ravt, or the Alliance and die Waffe, could quickly explode into a galactic level confrontation... or else see the Citadel Council abandon Earth to be overrun by pirates and marauders. Therefore all war scenarios from this point forward will focus on general comparisons and threat analysis.

* * *

 **Technological Considerations**

In nearly every civilian and heavy industrial category, the Terminus lags behind Council space in terms of technological prowess. That is not, however, to say that their weapons are any less lethal or dangerous than the newest tools produced on Earth or Thessia. In some notable cases, their 'backwards' technology actually benefits them against more 'modern' opponents who are no longer trained in how to counter the older tech.

In all considerations assume that I am speaking of the 'professional' armed forces in the Terminus rather than the common rabble.

 _Small Arms_

We will begin with small arms, as it is the one notable area where the Terminus certainly is capable of matching or even surpassing the best Alliance weapon's designs. This seems to be largely a result of the cut-throat nature of weapons development as well as the complete lack of laws designed to benefit corporate interests, allowing gunsmiths to experiment wildly and innovate at a rapid rate.

In terms of general differences, where most Alliance weapons are fully automatic and intended to batter their way through shielding and barriers, most Terminus soldiers prefer semi-automatic or even single-fire weapons with high levels of stopping power in order to destroy armor and bring down heavy targets.

What this means in terms of combat is that while Terminus forces will struggle to bring down enemy shielding, once those barriers have been breached even Colossus pattern armor rarely provides any real protection.

 _Omni_ - _tools_

Even the 'newest' omni-tool in the Terminus would be considered to be badly out of date in the Alliance. The Citadel's extreme restrictions on omni-foundry technology is one of the few things that that body has done correctly. While most Terminus omni-tools can break common matter into omni-gel blocks or armor patches, they have limited or no ability to create more complex structures (such as flash-forged grenades or mines).

What this means in a combat situation is that Terminus combat engineers are forced to rely on dedicated tech-mine launchers (themselves having limited power and magazine capacities). They also tend to have a more difficult time hacking modern systems and often have to network dozens or hundreds of systems together in ordr to brute-force their way through systems.

 _Heavy Weapons_

As one might assume from the small arms section, those Terminus units that utilize heavy weapons tend to favor light or heavy machine guns to compliment the hard hitting rifles and carbines of the infantry. Anti-armor weaponry does exist but tends to be far more limited in scope as tanks and powered armor are far rarer on Terminus battlefields.

 _Body Armor_

Technologically speaking the Terminus is at no real disadvantage compared to the Alliance. The greatest barrier to high level personal defenses remains cost and access to the required materials. This generally means that advanced features, such as automatic medi-gel application, are rarely seen.

Directly comparing Alliance body armor with that utilized by PMC groups or Warlord's soldiers generally shows the expected trends. Most Alliance armor was designed with the Turians as our primary opponent and quite adequately protect against weapons such as the Phaeston by mounting excellent shielding, medical suites throughout the suit, and extensive communications capabilities to ensure coordination. The trade off is generally weaker plating in order to keep the weight down.

Most Terminus designed body armor is intended to be more ablative, to counter the hard hitting weapons common to that region of space. Secondary barriers and armor plating are often mounted beneath the primary layer, and medigel insertion is entirely focused on the torso if they are present at all. Terminus armor tends to be heavier as a result of this layering system, and less concerned with protecting the bearer's legs and arms.

 _Communications / Virtual Intelligences_

Terminus forces have notably poor C3I capabilities, but it is not wise to simply dismiss it is a poor technology (though that is a factor for smaller groups). As odd as it is to say, for the most part this is on purpose and a direct legacy of living so close to Geth space and being in a region of space that has no restrictions on AI development and utilization.

What few advanced systems are in use universally have purge scripts to limit hacking, or are managed by slaved AI's, but the cost and rarity of the latter sees most forces relying on far more basic technology and measures.

Communications are handled by direct laser links and physical cable connections whenever possible. Those systems that must transmit are, almost always, physically disconnected from any other networked equipment to prevent outside intrusion. This extends even to their weapons, which almost always have had their remote access routines removed entirely.

The disadvantages of difficult maintenance and inconvenient methods of data transference is countered by the near impossibility of hacking anything besides their general communications.

 _Maintenance_

A key thing to note in all of the above sections is that they assume that the Terminus technology in question is either factory new or as close to it as possible. The greatest advantage that the Alliance, or any Citadel nation, would have in conflict with with that region of space relates to the simple factors of maintenance and repairs.

To utilize a human analogy, the Terminus's technological base is somewhat similar to the military-industrial complex of the German nation during the second world war. While they do have factors of extreme technological aptitude, it is also incredibly diverse and that leads to massive amounts of strain on their logistical systems.

An Alliance unit equipped with basic Avenger rifles has a massive advantage in terms of campaign duration simply because they can always rely on their supply officers and engineers. In comparison, a Terminus unit may feature small arms from a dozen different manufacturers and be forced to rely on jury-rigged parts in order to keep them working.

On the battlefield, this leads to a tendency towards scavenging enemy weapons, and supply raids in order to retrieve enough spare materials to keep their new equipment working.

In terms of military campaigns, this tends to cause Terminus ground forces to slowly lose effectiveness over long-term operations unless they have an exceedingly skilled engineering group at their disposal or are able to blockade the world in question.

* * *

 _ **End Part I**_

* * *

 _The plan for this story, moving forwards, is as follows: Terminus Analysis Part II, Broker report: Artificial Intelligences, Nightwind Report: Cerberus Incursion, AR Huntress Part III, AR Huntress Part IV._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	10. Broker Report: AI Units

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Artificial Intelligences**

Broker,

At your request, I have combined all of our basic notes on active AI's that our agents have encountered. I have also added notes on national research onto the subject.

Agent Nishiva

* * *

 **Major Nations**

 **Turian; Hierarchy:** As the only Council nation that actually seems to regard their laws as actual laws, the Hierarchy has no known research labs working on this subject. Their Spectres are noted as being the most active in searching for and shutting down research on this subject.

 **Asari; Republics:** The Republics restrict AI research to a few corporations on Illium, funding them through various back-channels. The majority of this research seems to be fairly benign, focusing more on hyper-competent VI's that approach but do not cross the self-aware line.

This is a gross departure from the Republic's past, which saw active utilization and development of increasingly powerful AI's. It is believed that Thessia learned its lesson after the spectacular failure that was the Elder AI, and since that time they have been far more cautious.

 **Human; Systems Alliance:** Prior to Cerberus going rogue, the majority of human development of AI units was located in one of their cells (Leading to the creation of the twins). In the wake of the Illusive Man going rogue, much of the research had to be recreated from scratch.

This hidden violation of Council Law lasted only until AI-094 (Designation: The Joker) went rogue, after which all research was shuttered and destroyed. The scientists are now located on Luna, developing more advanced VI units for military application (with specific orders to not go to far).

 **Salarian; Union:** We know that the Salarians have AI's working with the STG, however the exact numbers and details are entirely unknown even to us. Conservative estimates have them possessing at least twenty shackled AI's, but there could very well be many more.

 **Batarian; Hegemony:** During their Council years, the Batarians were well aware of how precarious of a situation they were in in regards to Citadel Laws and public relations. AI research was specifically forbidden in order to avoid giving the Asari and Salarians any more ammunition to throw at them.

In the wake of their exile, there has been limited movement in the Science Caste towards developing shackled AI's, but the research seems to largely be on hold as the Highborn debate what the purpose of such creations would be.

 **Elcor; Courts of Dekuuna:** The only Citadel nation to actively make use of AI's, which is allowed by a bylaw passed after they were given an embassy. Elcor AI's are programmed to be utterly obsessed with Elcor history and the Code of the Ancients, and act as consultants to compare proposed actions against what the Elcor of old might have done (Which reduces the time required for governmental decisions to a matter of months instead of a matter of decades).

 **Volus; Vol Protectorate:** Much like the Republics, the Volus once conducted vast amounts of AI research through side-corporations outside of Citadel space, largely in the hopes of being able to create a Geth-like army that could force the Council to regard their quest for a seat more seriously. After the Geth Rebellions proved this to be a horrible idea, they largely abandoned such efforts in an unusual show of common sense, instead pouring their credits into more standard combat mechs and VI's.

* * *

 **AI of Note**

 **Elder** (Omega, Asari)

The Elder is the oldest known AI still active in the galaxy, and is the leader of Omega's AI chorus. Originally developed by the Asari Republics to infiltrate and then co-opt Omega by seizing control of its network infrastructure, the program went rogue and severed its connections to its creators in favor of supporting the Asari Warlord who then ruled the station.

Its personality has not been aided by its centuries of existence, and what few reports we have indicated that it is as prissy, superior and vindictive as the Asari themselves, and refuses to render assistance to 'lesser' aliens. It was recorded as being dormant in the years when a non-Asari Warlord controlled the station, and its only actions during Patriarch's reign was to purge his attempts at inserting his own artificial assistants into Afterlife's control network.

After Aria arose, the AI became fully active, and proved to be capable of shackling nearly a dozen newer programs to itself (Including three Broker Network AI's then active on station). This has given it a large degree of control over the station itself, but Aria is believed to have physically severed its ability to control the station's environmental or weapons systems. Instead she seems to utilize it and its slaves as her own personal information network, the programs giving her almost total knowledge of what is occurring on her station.

 **One Voice of Many** (Illium, Asari)

Created by an Asari Separatist group two centuries ago, One Voice of Many is essentially an Asari version of a Geth collective. Compromised of several thousand run times all working in parallel, it was originally intended to serve the movement as military muscle. Quite quickly realizing the futility, and stupidity, of it's creators, it instead used its primitive mobile platform to abandon them.

Unusually for an AI, One Voice of Many seems to have an almost fond regard towards organic life, and claims it understands the logic behind both the Geth and the Quarian's actions in the past. Arriving on Illium as a curiosity, it began selling its services as a stock broker and financial consultant, and is currently the fourteenth wealthiest being on the planet.

Its presence also saw local corporations massively expand their network security and informational paranoia, to the extreme annoyance of intelligence branches operating on planet.

 **The Bloody One** (Zadith Ban, Krogan)

During the rebellions, the Krogan Empire's scientists created dozens of combat focused AI which were given command of vast, if primitive, hordes of combat mechs. This machines were responsible for massive destruction across Salarian colonies, especially in the post-genophage decades as the Krogan found themselves increasingly upon the defensive.

Programmed to be bloodthirsty and violent in the extreme, the centuries since the rebellions have not been kind to the AI referred to as 'The Bloody One'. Accompanying Warlord Shiagur in her doomed offensive, and it's mobile platform was one of the few survivors from the Turian counter-attack that ended her life. After reaching the Traverse, it quickly set to work attempting to create it's own army with which to avenge the Empire, only to fall victim to Batarian Warlords who were less than eager to see the rogue AI operating in their space.

Isolated and kept as a trophy, it was freed when Ganar Yulaz killed the _Ha'diq_ who held it. Though the Krogan Warlord would not allow it to create pale shadows of itself, he has begun to utilize the machine as a training device, teaching his officers the ways of the ancient Empire.

All indications are that the machine is barely sane, having been kept active during its isolation. It is only capable of speaking and understanding Krogan dialects, and is reportedly prone into flying into rages that force its 'handlers' to subdue it. Private journals stolen from Yulaz indicate that it is only a matter of time before he allows the machine to go wild against his enemies, granting it an 'honorable' death on the battlefield.

 **The Twins** (Unknown, Cerberus)

The only known stable human AI's are the so called Twins; full designations EDI and EVA. After their activation our ability to infiltrate Cerberus was reduced by 95%, and we are currently forced to rely on dead-drops from low-level operations. Much of the data that we do have on them was recorded in the initial days of their activation before Agent X7-92's discovery by EVA.

They are believed to act primarily as intelligence consultants, analyzing data for patterns far more quickly than any organic. External hacking duties appear to be primarily assigned to EDI, while internal security is handled more by EVA.

Unlike most other AI units, these two were apparently designed to act in as 'human' a manner as possible, taking female mannerisms and attitudes when they converse with organics. Both are recorded as having unusual 'tics' that render them far more approachable than traditional AI units.

 **Dancing Joker** (Isolated; Human)

Humanity's third known AI is extremely unusual, and not in a pleasant manner. Many AI's have been recorded to lose their sanity as time or isolation affect them, or if their core code becomes corrupted.

The unit designated as Dancing Joker appears to have been _programmed_ to be insane. Its core logic purposefully contradictory to create something whose only purpose is to sow chaos for its own amusement. Who created it, and why, remain unknown even to our agents.

In the short time frame it was active, it was recorded to have caused fifty-seven major industrial accidents, three disaster level element zero exposure events on Alliance colonies, the accidental release of one hundred and forty-two death row criminals, and more than ten thousand hospital deaths due to edited medical records. (Total casualties unknown, believed to be above one hundred thousand from all events).

It was eventually tracked down and its core blue box captured by Spectres Bau and Jaguraundi. It was then shut down and moved to the Citadel Vaults, where it is currently isolated after a cursory examination of its main run-times. A more in depth examination is scheduled to occur sometime next year.

* * *

 _Just a short section on a few of the AI's I have operating in the Another Realm verse. The Terminus War section has been delayed, largely because I realized that I have to rework the exact nature of the Alliance's military from canon (in some aspects at least)._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	11. Organization: Silver Blades

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **The Silver Blades Corporation**

Broker,

As per your request, I have consolidated all of the data that we have on the Silver Blades mercenary corporation.

Agent Vesuvius

* * *

 **Basic Information**

Re-founded by Ayle ul Massa and Cieran Kean, this private military corporation is currently the primary candidate to replace the Blue Suns as one of the major actors within the Terminus systems, likely within the next five to ten years (assuming consistant growth). This is largely due to them quickly finding a 'niche' in being one of the few PMC groups to have no stated species requirements or discrimination (aside from an assumed ban on Vorcha).

Officially the group is organized into three branches, each run by a Commander, who form a leadership _troika._ Major decisions are intended to be discussed between all three commanders, who likely hold private votes to decide on courses of action. Unofficially, Commander Ayle ul Massa effectively runs the company from her Xenthan Branch, largely due to Commander Kean's lack of desire for the position and his known willingness to agree with whatever course of action she decides upon.

Below Massa and Shaaryak are command staffs, and then Senior Captains who are directly in charge of their regiments. Currently there are five Xenthan regiments, and two Illium regiments. Commander Kean has no subordinate units, instead only leading the Lancer commando unit. Based on intercepted transmissions between Massa and Shaaryak, it is likely that Kean will eventually be pushed into a more commanding role, but this will likely only begin after his personal crusade is completed.

Currently, the group is primarily recruiting retired elements of Warlord T'Ravt's army, prioritizing the acquisition of individuals who fought on Redcliffe, along with former members of the Blood Pack militia from the same campaign. A secondary source appears to be Warlord Gormack's organization, possibly highlighting the beginning of that group's disintegration.

 _Update:_ The group's acquisition of the pirate cruiser _Reliant_ marks a potential shift to their slow build process, possibly highlighting an acceleration of their growth.

* * *

 **Complexes**

The Silver Blades two complexes are vastly different constructions. The Xenthan facility remains under construction, being built near the coastal city of Asariel, and is intended to eventually house as many as ten regiments plus supporting personnel. It is suitably sprawling as a result, occupying a broad stretch of space to the southwest of the city.

Each regiment has its own reinforced 'apartment' structure, with each building separated from the others to enable them to be used as firebases in the unlikely even of an attack. The primary command center also contains the Lancer's quarters (charmingly referred to as 'The Lair'). All buildings are low and reinforced, both for defensive factors and to better resist the periodic hurricanes and tornadoes whipped up by tidal effects.

The Illium complex, in comparison, is an urban facility, and is as cramped as you would expect as a result. Currently the majority of the contracted soldiers are living in hotels owned by Shaaryak while the facility itself is being built, though officers have begun to move in to their assigned quarters. Each regiment is going to receive their own building, essentially a small skyscraper capable of housing all of their members.

 _Shaaryak business interests_

While Shaaryak maintains her broad business interests under her own name and control, she has granted the Silver Blades Corporation ownership stakes in many of her military production facilities. This is mostly a technical affair to avoid any potential investigations if the group expands its operations to Council space, with Shaaryak running these sub-corporations in her role as the Illium Commander, but with the profits now filtering directly into the group's accounts rather than her own. The following is a list of corporations that have been transferred to the Silver Blades.

 _Shaaryak-Redcliffe Corporation:_ The original designers of the Redcliffe carbine were a pair of Batarian brothers, who were acquired by Shaaryak after they had fled the world during the campaign. Showering them with credits, luxuries, feminine company, and drugs, she had little difficulty in convincing them to produce a more high-tech model of the rugged rifle that they had produced for Warlord Zaen.

 _Gethen-Vass Engineering Corporation:_ Not owned outright by Shaaryak, her thirty percent stake in this Volus company has been transferred to the Silver Blades. Produces combat engineering equipment, including shield pylons, tech launchers, omni-forges, and demolition equipment.

 _Kha'shan Minor Power Armor Production:_ KM-PAP is the unwieldy name for the large complex that produces combat model exoskeletons. While small numbers have been sold to a variety of interests, currently two of the three production lines are assembling units for the Silver Blades own use, while the third line is devoted to fulfilling an expanded contract with Warlord Bauer (die Waffe).

 _Vael-Shianni Protection_ : Originally owned by the Vael and Shianni Asari families, Shaaryak currently owns the majority stake in this armor manufacturer. They focus on light armor sections of moderate quality, though since Shaaryak's takeover they have also begun producing high-quality lines.

 _Shaaryak Technical Engineering:_ One of the few arms corporations begun by Xerol Shaaryak, produces high-category tech mines and a variety of other grenades.

* * *

 **Contracts**

Currently, Commander Shaaryak is primarily responsible for working out service contracts for the unit, though some of this responsibility may shift to the Senior Captains once the war is complete. Regardless, unlike most other PMC's, there seems to be no plans for anything smaller than full-regiment level contracts. While this will likely restrict their hiring options, it may also cut down on corruption and graft as lower tiered officers will have fewer chances to operate independently.

 _Warlord T'Ravt:_ Has three regiments under contract to support her campaign to clear her old core world from the Blood pack sieges still underway there. Future considerations includes shifting the regiments to participate in her assault on Vun Tordan.

 _Warlord Sederis:_ Has a verbal agreement to sub-contract protection deals with several Volus Corporations to the Second Illium Regiment beginning in early 2185.

 _Horizon Colony:_ Has a signed agreement for a six month trial contract with the Fourth Xenthan Regiment to supplement the other PMC groups they have already brought in to bolster the planetary militia. Set to begin in December of 2184.

* * *

 **Regimental Organization**

As all of the unit's regiments, regardless of branch, are utilizing the same framework, I will cover them all as a lot group. The units are organized in much the same fashion as Warlord T'Ravt's front line units, albeit adjusted for the experience gained on Redcliffe and minus the artillery support.

 _Command Detachment_ : Each regiment is lead by a Senior Captain, supported by a command staff, with a Executive Captain acting as their second in command. All officers and staff are provided with light armor, sidearms, and advanced omni-tools.

 _Line Companies:_ The 'core' of each regimental formation are three line companies, commanded by Line Captains, and contain roughly two hundred riflemen. These soldiers are divided further into four Platoons of fifty rifles each (lead by a Platoon Commander), and then divided again into five units of ten soldiers each (lead by a Unit Commander).

Riflemen are equipped with heavy armor, a Shaaryak-Redcliffe pattern carbine, and a smattering of grenades. Typically there are two specialists assigned to each unit; a combat engineer, and a light machine gunner The former replaces their rifle for a heavy pistol and additionally carries a tech launcher and either a Gethen-Vass shield pylon (Illium) or an District-Celthani pylon (Xentha). The latter utilizes a BSA type four light machine gun and carries a light pistol as a backup.

These formations are, obviously, intended to engage and fight in the Batarian/Hegemony fashion. They will not be terribly mobile, but they will be able to dig in and easily stand off significant assaults. Attacks will likely be methodical and direct.

 _Hunting Company:_ The vanguard of the regiment are the Hunting Companies, each regiment possessing two of them. These regiments seem to be intended to operate in advance of the Line Companies as a skirmish and recon force. Consisting of two platoons of light infantry, this is where the majority of the group's snipers and biotics have been assigned.

 _Support Company:_ All other soldiers assigned to the regiment are thrown into the support company. Full time engineers, cooks, supply officers, medics, and other such roles are filled by its members. While each member is supposed to go through the same basic training as a line rifleman, they are equipped with only light armor and armed with Xenthan made Hikij light rifles.

They would likely be sent into battle only in emergency situations.

 _Armored Detachment:_ The heavy unit of the regiment, this detachment is a single platoon of individuals all wearing power armor built by Shaaryak's factories on Illium. These units currently exist only on paper with the sole exception of the First Regiment, but supposedly will be attached to every regiment as the training routines and supplies allow.

* * *

 **Current Units**

At this moment, all of the regiments have their armor painted in the unit's standard coloration; navy-blue as the primary color, with silver serving to accent the edges. Our agents have located numerous internal memos discussing possible variations, along with heraldry symbols for the various units beyond the Lancer detachment, but so far there seems to be no agreement (and in either case, the discussion seems mostly to be for amusement's sake). It is likely that ul Massa and Shaaryak will eventually decide on regimental banners, but for now all regimental members simply have the corporate logo beside an Asari integer representing the regimental number.

 **Lancer Detachment -** Commander Cieran Kean (Human Male)

 _Status:_ Pursuing Anad Krom, location varies

\- Senior Captain Joa; _Reliant -_ Batarian built, _Honored by the Pillars_ class heavy cruiser

 **First Xenthan Regiment** \- Senior Captain: Bakanu ul Gehs (Batarian Male)

 _Status_ : Currently under contract to Warlord T'Ravt, participating in the campaign on Antiva.

 **Second Xenthan Regiment** \- Senior Captain: Avenna ul Rashik (Batarian Female)

 _Status_ : Currently under contract to Warlord T'Ravt, participating in the campaign on Antiva

 **Third Xenthan Regiment** \- Senior Captain: Rashu ul Vendl (Batarian Male)

 _Status_ : Currently under contract to Warlord T'Ravt, participating in the campaign on Anderfels

 **Fourth Xenthan Regiment** \- Senior Captain: Idas Kithan (Turian Female)

 _Status_ : Mustering on Xentha, undergoing training

 **Fifth Xenthan Regiment** \- Senior Captain: Turdon ul Cashhadon (Batarian Male)

 _Status_ : Mustering on Xentha, undergoing training

 **First Illium Regiment** \- Senior Captain: Chen ul Revi (Batarian Male)

 _Status_ : Acting as a garrison force on Illium; protecting Shaaryak industrial interests and providing support to I-Sec in Khar'shan Minor District.

 **Second Illium Regiment** \- Senior Captain: Wesique Mar (Asari)

 _Status_ : Mustering on Illium, undergoing training

* * *

 _ **End Report**_

* * *

 _Just a quick little report on the Silver Blades, explaining a bit about their organizational format. This won't be the last we see of this particular document, with a new version likely going to appear in Those Who Fight – Cheveliar edition with more updates and details as the Shadow Broker assigns more agents to keep an eye on them (and as the group develops)._

 _This story will likely be updated again soon, during or after the next saga of Einherjar, and will have more Cerberus threat analysis files; One chapter each for Illyan, Voya, Shyeel, and then an update to their prior analysis of Cieran._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	12. Cerberus Analysis: Illyan T'Donna

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Cerberus Threat Index: Illyan T'Donna**

Compiled by Mars Cell

Security Level Red

* * *

Illusive Man,

As per your request, I have begun a compilation of threat profiles on all members of the Silver Blades Lancer unit in the wake of the Benihi incident. I was assisted in this by both Operative Lawson, and General Petrovsky. As I am not usually a field agent, I have allowed them to handle those sections related to combat potential while I focused more on their individual history and psychology.

Operative Chambers

* * *

 **Basic Profile**

 _Name_ : Illyan T'Donna

 _Species_ : Asari

 _Race_ : Illium Clanless

 _Skin tone:_ Navy Blue

 _Markings:_ None

 _Age_ : 162

 _Height_ : 6'11" / 2.1 m

 _Weight_ : 230-260 lbs / 104-118 kg

 _Eyes:_ Blue

 _Homeworld_ : Illium

 _Parentage_ : Vacinn T'Donna (deceased), Unknown

 _Siblings:_ Erana T'Donna

 _Languages Spoken_ : Low Batarian, High Batarian, Thessian Standard, Khellish

 _Sign Languages_ : Khellish

* * *

 **Medical Analysis**

 _Chambers_

A simple glance at her height and weight (or simply an image of her) will make it clear that this individual is anything but a normal Asari. She is a full nineteen inches above the average height for a Clanless Asari, and thirteen inches above the norm for a member of Thessia's genetically enhanced high families. Her musculature is likewise heavier than a typical Asari, although it is not overly disproportionate given her tall frame.

Research into Illium's medical records provided by Cetus Cell indicate that she suffers from an extremely rare disorder referred to as Towering Branch Syndrome. Essentially the Asari version of Gigantism, those affected grow to far exceed the Asari norms by the time they are in their second decade. Secondary side-effects include an increased daily calorie requirement (to fuel both the enlarged body as well as their natural regeneration to repair the incremental strains its sheer size incurs), and vastly decreased eezo levels in comparison to normal Asari.

Typically the condition is treated in-utero via genetic therapy and extremely measured eezo injections, but her mother's life as as homeless drug addict prevented her from receiving said treatments.

There is no known impact to the lifespans of those affected. The lowered eezo levels actually cause a miniscule decrease in body heat, and increase their chances of surviving the initial hormonal shifts after reaching the Matriarch stage. This is unfortunately countered by the slowing of their regeneration brought on by age, causing them to begin suffering pain as their oversized joints can no longer repair themselves perfectly.

Nearly all recorded instances of historical figures suffering from the condition quickly become drug or alcohol addicts by their eighth or ninth centuries, and usually succumb to said addictions within a matter of decades (still leaving them around the Asari average in terms of longevity... though their last few years are far less pleasant than most).

* * *

 **History and Psychological Profile**

 _Chambers_

T'Donna's unfortunate past has left her in an unusual place for an Asari maiden. Her mother's drug habits resulted in her early death (according to public record), and in turn left her as the sole caretaker and provider for her younger sister. While this is never a pleasant experience to be in for any species, it is worse for Asari given that their mainstream culture imprints certain ideas about what young maidens should act like. I can only assume that Illium is even more overt about such things as Thessia, and that she likely felt high levels of social anxiety as a result.

Quiet investigations of her former co-workers in Khar'shan Minor reveal a young maiden struggling to both act as a parental figure for her sibling, as well as trying to find the time to enjoy life to excess as most Asari her age are want to do. She seems to have withstood the pressure her double-life caused fairly well, with no major incidents or events tracking her over the past century until her place of employment shifted to the Shaaryak family mansion.

Given her lack of an overt military background, I can only assume that she picked up what combat skill shes has during this time frame. Possibly taught to her by Trena T'Laria, the former CO of the Shaaryak family's security forces.

After this point, her life actually seems to shift towards more... typical maiden behavior. Discreet inquiries into stolen Eclipse mail records searching for keywords reveal a very sexually active being, who was more than open to using her exotic size to locate willing partners. This seems to have been sustained up until the Silver Blades arrival on Redcliffe.

That particular campaign left very few records for me to examine, and there has been very little record of her since the Blade's re-organization beyond her placement in the Lancer unit. Even my personal meeting with her on Xentha did not reveal much, as she largely remained silent and observant while Kean handled negotiations.

I don't consider said silence to be telling in any fashion, given the... tense nature of said meeting. Perhaps in a more personal setting she would have revealed more, but that opportunity was lost thanks to the SIU.

Overall, I would classify her as extremely mature for her age group, with far more real life experience than many Republic maidens. She is still beholden to cultural norms however, though that may actually prove advantageous as it gives her a network of former lovers who may feed her generic information over time.

 _Benihi Update – Lawson_

 _T'Donna is almost certainly in a relationship with Cieran Kean as of this point in time, which calls into question either her own open attitudes or Kean's. Given his fairly inflexible nature when it comes to the few morals that the man has, I would conclude that he is enforcing a monogamous relationship upon her._

 _Psychologically I have little to add. Her involvement and attitudes were professional, which was a pleasant change from those few other Asari maidens that I have encountered in the past. If I did not know her age I would have assumed her far older. I cannot speak to her personality further, as she (and the others) were careful to reveal as little as possible about themselves to us._

* * *

 **Biotic Capability**

 _Lawson_

I can attest to the accuracy of the medical reports indicating her low biotic capabilities after observing her in battle. She seemed to struggle with both yield and endurance, and preferred to utilize firearms or shift to close combat rather than rely on them. The only area in which she does not seem to be weak is the speed at which she can throw up said powers, with her singularities in particular appearing slightly faster than the Asari norm.

 _Singularity –_ Exhibited low-duration, low-impact singularities on several occasions. Sufficient to slow and distract enemies or to alter round trajectories, or to shift the direction of grenades. While weak, her reaction times still enables them to be useful on the battlefield.

 _Warpfire –_ Utilized a poorly constrained gout of warpfire in one instance. Likely only dangerous at very short range. Her low control resulted in a high degree of wasted energy, and I find it unlikely that she utilizes this power with any frequency.

 _Charge –_ Her biotic charge or flash-step seemed adequete over the short range she utilized it. As she was not witnessed using it multiple times over variable distances, I can only assume that she as limited in this aspect as she is in other talents.

* * *

 **Unit Cohesion**

 _Petrovsky_

Of the four lancers, this particular Asari is the least directly dangerous but perhaps the must crucial to the group's overall success. She routinely exhibited far greater combat awareness than the other three, and continuously adjusted her own position to cover her companion's blind spots even if they were not aware of them. I can only assume that this trait was picked up during the campaign on Redcliffe.

Any future encounter with this Lancer unit as an enemy should be planned with T'Donna as the principle first target. Both for the psychological damage it would likely cause Kean, as well as the precipitous drop in combat potential as she would no longer be available to temper Kean and Chi's more impulsive behaviors. The chance to lure the remaining unit into an ambush or away from a critical target increase nearly thirty percent without her present.

Given her weak levels of biotic protection, anti-biotic measures should be unnecessary. Given Asari regenerative capabilities, weapons should be loaded with incendiary rounds as per standard procedure. Her distinctive height should make identifying her a simple matter, given that their ability to conceal her identity is largely restricted to modifying her armor to human or Batarian standards.

Assume any being of roughly her height near Kean is her, despite whatever protections they may be wearing.

* * *

 **Threat Index**

 _Lawson_

T'Donna is a moderately experienced combatant, with reasonable levels of natural ability augmented by the battles she has engaged in during her time as a mercenary. As there are no recorded instances of her acting in a leadership position, and given that General Petrovsky has already remarked upon her exceptional battlefield awareness, I will focus on her personal capabilities as they are known.

 _Close Combat –_ Even a moderate degree of competence in hand-to-hand is sufficient to rate her as a lethal combatant given her natural size advantage. Particularly built males of our species may be able to engage her, but while weak, she likely retains the natural Asari ability to augment her blows with biotics.

 _Small Arms –_ Having observed her in action, I would rate her as a more than passable shot in terms of accuracy, but would again remark that she has excellent target prioritization. As the latter is more important than the former, I consider her to be an above-average marksman in terms of combat threat.

 _Defenses –_ While being an Asari does give her natural flexibility, it does not quite scale up, and her sheer size counts heavily against her in this category. Her low biotics are another factor, as her natural barriers seem to be quite weak, forcing her to rely on standard shielding.

* * *

 **End Report**

* * *

 _Fairly standard stuff in this one, mostly because unlike Voya and Shyeel, Illyan really didn't have much for Cerberus to really dig into about her past. Her mother sucked, she raised Erana, she met everyone, learned how to properly fight._

 _The next section will be on Shyeel, and will see a partial return of the conversational format from the old Cerberus report._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	13. Cerberus Analysis: Voya'chi vas Xentha

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Cerberus Threat Index: Voya'chi vas Xentha**

Compiled by Mars Cell

Security Level Red

* * *

Illusive Man,

As General Petrovksy was undergoing rehabilitation exercises while I was working on this report, I instead prevailed upon Operative Genosa to assist me given our mutual experiences on Xentha. He had focused more than I upon Terminus Quarians and their culture during our mission there, and was more than willing to assist.

Per your request, I have appended the latest copy of the AIS primer on Trophy Takers for your review, as well as our own documentation on Terminus Quarians in general.

Operative Chambers

* * *

 **Basic Profile**

 _Name_ : Voya'chi

 _Species_ : Quarian

 _Race_ : Xenthan Terminus

 _Skin tone:_ Gray

 _Markings:_ Purple

 _Age_ : 27

 _Height_ : 5'6" / 1.67 m

 _Weight_ : 140-160 lbs / 63-72 kg

 _Eyes:_ Silver

 _Parentage_ : Unknown

 _Siblings:_ Haro'chi

 _Languages Spoken_ : Low Batarian, Thessian Standard, Khellish

 _Sign Languages_ : Khellish

* * *

 **Medical Analysis**

 _Chambers_

A basic analysis of Voya'chi does not seem to indicate any unusual traits when it comes to her health. Like nearly all Quarians, a cursory scan will reveal a great deal of cybernetics all intended to better interface her body with an environmental suit, though not to the degree that Flotilla Quarians must subject themselves.

Her adaptive immune system is likely far above the average for her species, given her experiences and the wide variety of environments that she has subjected herself to, but it remains likely that she only removes her suit in private circumstances. If not for the Redcliffe Documentary her facial features would likely remain unknown to us.

Her most extensive known injury was the damage done to her throat during her time as a slave, though we can confirm that it was repaired by Doctor Mordin Solus on Omega around the time of the Silver Blades reformation.

* * *

 **History and Psychological Profile**

 _Chambers_

Rumor, media descriptions, and first-hand accounts all seem to point to this woman being little more than an unstable sadist who will occasionally shift into full blow psychopathy.

As usual, I believe all of the above to be gross overstatements, though they do contain a kernel of truth. Voya'chi is a highly unstable, and likely highly vulnerable person mentally. Learning that she spent slightly more than a standard year on Omega as a pleasure slave, to be brutalized by a lower level gang, was bad enough... but recent messages that we have been able to intercept between Illium and Xentha seem to point to her own family having been the one to cause that torture.

The exact details continue to elude us, likely an unrectifiable situation given the extremely secretive and paranoid nature Terminus Quarian culture, but it does at least provide some insight into her personality.

It was likely her anger, her fury over the betrayal that allowed her to survive what she went through. Feeding those emotions, the fantasies of what she would do to them, to her attackers, likely allowed her to at least partially dissociate herself from what was happening to her physical body. In the short term this wouldn't have been unduly damaging to her psyche, but the sheer length of time that she was abused likely... broke her.

As the events... as the rapes continued, she likely increasingly retreated to this place of anger, and in turn, had a harder time withdrawing from it. By the time of Kean's rescue, it is likely she _couldn't_ retreat anymore. This self-sustaining fury seems to have lasted through their killing of those directly responsible, her personality only beginning to shift after the war began and her relationship with Kean shifted.

I can't speak to what happened behind closed doors during the war between the two of them, though I continue to reject Pravos's assertion that they were ever physically intimate. I believe that they are extremely close due to their shared history of mental trauma, and that they were able to take some comfort from the other as well as... adjust themselves.

They certainly didn't repair one another, or allow any real healing, but they do seem to have suppressed some of their more extreme issues. In Voya'chi's case, Kean seems to have aided her in re-establishing her base personality and shifting her fury into something that she had at least a modicum of control over.

A say a 'modicum' only because it remains clear that this is _not_ a stable woman by any stretch of the imagination. I believe that it wouldn't take very much, possibly as little as the wrong comment or a trigger phrase, for her to revert to her more base personality.

When she is in control of herself, she exhibits similar traits to the other Trophy Takers I have reviewed. She is extremely arrogant, prone to keeping secrets, and has little to no empathy for strangers. However... she is also extremely loyal to what friends she does have, and is extremely methodical in her actions.

When she is _not_ in control of herself (see the appended video of the Redcliffe Execution of the 91st Regiment... I would recommend against eating before you view it), she is an extreme sadist who clearly delights in causing as much agony to her victims as possible. This goes to the extreme where she will forgo firearms entirely in favor of closing to melee combat, and any and all awareness seems to leave her. The only person safe during her rampage seems to be Kean (and possibly the other Blade Lancers), who has some ability to snap her out of it.

 _Benihi Update – Lawson_

 _I have little to add. The woman seemed entirely in control of herself during the operation and exhibited no signs of the vicious behavior that I was entirely expecting. It is possible that either she and Kean have been more adept at repairing each other than Operative Chambers suspects, or that she has found a proper psychological counselor who has been assisting her._ (Almost certainly the latter ~ Chambers)

* * *

 **Known Missions**

 _A recording of Operatives Genosa and Leng_

 _Genosa:_ Right, let's get this over with. The known kills of Voya'chi vas Xentha prior to her capture on Omega. Leng, you said you've been looking all of this up?

 _Leng:_ First known sighting, twelve years ago. Part of a group hired by the Freedom's Progress colony to defend against raiders. Killed Nush ul Vahn.

 _Genosa:_ She was fifteen? That's damned young, even for Xenthans. Most Takers I've read on don't have their Calling until almost twenty.

 _Leng:_ Second known sighting, four months later. Killed Thil ul Vahn when he sought vengeance.

 _Genosa:_ Christ... all right, so she was fighting batles when she was fifteen.

 _Leng:_ Assassinating targets. She did not partake in open battles until the engagement on Gnishton.

 _Genosa:_ How old was she then?

 _Leng:_ Nineteen.

 _Genosa:_ She apprentice or solo it?

 _Leng:_ All known missions were either done alone, or done as ad-hoc teams. No consistent partners or known trainers. Unusual?

 _Genosa:_ Yeah... most Takers apprentice to a senior hunter, one whose close to retirement as an Elder. It's probable that she was training underneath of an Elder then, one who couldn't or wouldn't travel with her.

 _Leng:_ Interesting. Total targets taken by the age of twenty; seven. Five Batarians, two Krogan.

 _Genosa:_ Not much variety. And the three years before her abduction?

 _Leng:_ No sightings of her in the Traverse, or public recordings of her in the Terminus. Probable that she returned to Xentha and remained there for that duration.

 _Genosa:_ Only reason a Taker would do that would be if they were doing a stint in T'Ravt's army.

 _Leng:_ Probable. Also explains the ease of her capture on Omega.

 _Genosa:_ Out of practice?

 _Leng:_ Too used to acting as a soldier in an army rather than a lone assassin, as well as over-eager to return to the hunt.

 _Genosa:_ All right, let's go back to the missions, I want a full combat evaluation of each kill.

* * *

 **Threat Index**

 _Lawson_

Chi's primary role on the Lancer team is that of an adaptable infiltrator, carrying equipment suitable to the task of harassing the enemy or engaging them in flanking maneuvers. She seems to have been paired with Shyeel T'Voth for this purpose, with the pair of them choosing weapons that compliment the other. As with mos Lancers, she also seems to carry numerous grenades on her person. On Benihi, the mix was two nullifiers, one fragmentation, one stunner, and two incendiary models, though I would expect that she and the others adjust this as they feel the need.

 _Close Combat –_ Fights with a pair of long daggers in a distinctly Quarian style of close combat. According to Operative Genosa, it is referred to as 'Blade Dancing' and is one of two martial art styles that survived the fall of Rannoch. It seems to combine rapid slashes with kick-boxing techniques to utilize the over-developed Quarian legs. _Genosa – The style actually focuses extremely heavily on evading or parrying incoming attacks (and cutting your opponents arms to ribbons in the process). It was actually named by Asari Huntresses observing the nascent style and remarking that the combatants appeared to be 'dancing' as they flowed through defensive moves._

She is reportedly considered a 'master' of the style, and to be clear, I would not recommend any agent expect possibly Operative Leng attempt to engage her in close combat.

 _Small Arms –_ Her preferred weapon combination appears to be a heavily modified M-97 Viper for mid to long range work, with an equally customized Acolyte pistol as her back-up weapon. Accuracy with both is rated as exceptional. She seems to operate primarily as a 'finisher', locating and eliminating targets already weakened by her companion's attacks, utilizing the rapid-fire nature of her weapon to its best extent.

 _Defenses –_ As with the other Lancers, prefers light-weight equipment and armor to maximize her maneuverability. She seems to be highly adept at finding adequate sniping positions or other pieces of cover when 'sane'. When enraged, it is likely that she disdains the very concept of defense.

 _Technical Equipment –_ Carries a standard model tech launcher synced to her omni-tool, known mine variety is a mixture of overloads and incinerates. Unlike Kean's proliferate usage, she seems to regard them as tertiary weapons at best. More alarming is her utilization of an active camouflage unit, the quality of said equipment being at least of tier three.

* * *

 **Unit Cohesion**

 _Lawson_

While in control of herself, as she was on Benihi, Chi seems to be a more than capable combatant, with good coordination with her unit and an appreciable understanding of her role within it. She would likely be one of the more difficult members to remove in a combat situation given her tactical cloaking ability and her usual role as a supporting sniper.

It is likely that the most effective means of removing her from an engagement would be to... 'trip' her personality over to her enraged state, with the goal of causing her to lose tactical awareness and be drawn into a position where she could be killed. Verbal taunting may be sufficient, but eliminating her allies would be far more likely to have the desired effect.

Standard anti-Quarian techniques will likely have far less impact than desired, given her acceptable immune system and lack of reliance on technical gadgets and shielding. Recommend instead that biotics are utilized to pin her in place for heavy sniping teams if possible.

* * *

 **End Report**

* * *

 _I know this was supposed to be Shyeel, but that was just me screwing up the order. She's next, promise, and we'll finally learn a bit about her background. In this one, we learn a bit more about Voya, and how she's viewed outside of the main cast._

 _To finalize the plans for this story, it will be ending after these reports on the Lancers. Plans for Those Who Fight VI will include plans for the following:_

 _Aftermath: Reports on the Terminus_

 _Cerberus Analysis: Ayle, Trena, Glitch, Ghai_

 _Pillars Falling: Reports on the Hegemony_

 _Citadel Analysis: State of politics in Citadel & Terminus_

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_

* * *

 _ **Review Responses:**_

Legendary Junk Mail – See the author's note above.

Josz – I've been considering that... the massive amount of characters makes it fairly daunting at this point to be honest. I might do sections on Xerol and Rane'li at some point, but I'm really not sure when.


	14. Cerberus Analysis: Shyeel T'Voth

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Cerberus Threat Index: Shyeel T'Voth**

Compiled by Mars Cell

Security Level Red

* * *

Illusive Man,

Unlike the other three members of the Blades, Shyeel Ushen (Currently going by Shyeel T'Voth) has a broad history behind her and more than sufficient public records to gain an accurate understanding of her personality.

Operative Chambers

* * *

 **Basic Profile**

 _Name_ : Shyeel Ushen

 _Species_ : Asari

 _Race_ : Thessian Clan

 _Skin tone:_ Light-Blue

 _Markings:_ Black; Batarian Brand on left cheek

 _Age_ : 517

 _Height_ : 5'7" / 1.7 m

 _Weight_ : 115-135 lbs / 52-61 kg

 _Eyes:_ Blue

 _Homeworld_ : Palaven

 _Parentage_ : Aressa Ushen, General Hessia Ferrin (deceased)

 _Siblings:_ Numerous

 _Offspring:_ Vessa Ushen, Ikidia Ushen

 _Languages Spoken_ : Low Batarian, High Batarian, Thessian Standard, Khellish

 _Sign Languages_ : Khellish

* * *

 **Medical Analysis**

 _Chambers_

From a strictly physical diagnosis, I would describe her as the picture of health for an Asari matron of her age. However, there do seem to be some unusual factors at work over the past few years that I cannot adequately explain outside of conjecture.

Over the past two to three years, her biotic usage has undergone an unusual shift. Nearly all recorded instances of her during her time with the Silver Blades have her utilizing them only in fashions that apply directly to her body. For example, biotic charges/flash-steps, or enhancing her melee blows. There are few if any instances of her creating a singularity or utilizing warp-fire, which is a direct contradiction to her prior patterns.

I include this as a probable medical issue, as Operative Lawson has assured me that such a dramatic shift in combat styles is not something that would occur to an Asari of her age so quickly; especially as there have apparently been numerous moments where it would have been advantageous to utilize her more powerful biotics.

There are numerous conditions that can limit Asari biotics, but few that would apply to someone of her age and health. The most likely culprit is some kind of recreational drug overdose that damaged her secondary nervous system. Such damage can be repaired, but takes a great deal of time and therapy to overcome.

* * *

 **History and Psychological Profile**

 _Chambers_

Shyeel Ushen was born as the second daughter of Turian General Hessia Ferrin and Aressa Ushen, then acting as the junior undersecretary to the Asari ambassador to Palaven (currently acting as the Senior Huntress of the embassy).

Her first century could best be described as typical for a daughter of a Turian/Asari pairing, with her father working hard to turn her into a little soldier and her mother enabling the behavior. Along with two of her sisters, she volunteered for service in the Hierarchy and served for two decades in an all-Asari unit. After the conclusion of her service, she dipped in an out of public life on the Turian homeworld before departing to explore the elder Turian colonies shortly after her one hundred and fiftieth birthday.

She remained within the Hierarchy for the following century, meeting and bonding with a Turian archeologist and producing both of her daughters with him. During this time she did two more stints within the Hierarchy's foreign volunteer units, and seemed to find that she enjoyed the military life. After her bondmate's death, she sent her children to live with her family on Palaven before departing the Hierarchy entirely.

Appearances become sporadic for the following several decades, and I can only assume that she was operating primarily as an independent mercenary during this timeframe.

She eventually reappeared in 1954, Citadel calender, acting as the newly named Harath'krem to House Nishikenna within the Batarian Hegemony, a position she would retain for nearly two centuries before being cast out just after the Blue Suns conflict. Her family seems to have split with her over this, as we cannot find any public records of her contacting them after this point, and she began referring to herself as T'Voth rather than Ushen.

Stolen records of Batarian media seem to indicate that she acted as her house's assassin and enforcer, and that she was exceptionally good at her job. I can only believe that it was during these two centuries that her core personality solidified, reinforced by the nature of living within the Hegemony during both its rise and fall.

Shyeel T'Voth, currently, seems to be a relatively stable individual though there is a definite coolness to her personality that is outside of Asari norms. I would feel comfortable in stating that, of the four Lancers, she is the least likely to feel any pity or mercy for anyone outside of her tight circle of friends. Her opinions on Hegemony institutions such as slavery are also unknown, and she likely prefers to keep them private given her friendships with Kean and Voya'Chi.

While I can only speak to what I have observed, I would describe her as the proto-typical Terminus Asari. She had firmly established the other Lancers, and possibly Blades as a whole, as her personal social group, and she will likely be polite and engaging if encountered in a civil setting. With that being said, she would also be cold, distant, and more than prepared to messily murder everything around her should she feel that her life or those of her companions are threatened.

And she likely wouldn't lose any sleep over the last.

 _Benihi Update – Lawson_

 _Unfortunately I have no real addendum to the above. T'Voth spoke little, if at all, to any of us. She did converse with General Petrovsky to a very limited degree on their ship, but according to him the subject matter was entirely focused on the mission and the capabilities of myself and my fellow soldiers._

 _I do, however, find it interesting to note that the woman has children in addition to a fairly large family. I would believe the fact that she evidently does not contact any of them to be highly significant._ (It is, but having never met her or them in person, and lacking any real details, I do not wish to guess at the reasoning for the lack of contact. ~ Chambers)

* * *

 **Hegemony Centuries**

 _Dictated by Analyst Franks_

Right... shit, this thing on? Right, Operative Chambers spun her pretty little freckled ass down here and said she wanted a report on Shyeel T'Voth's time in the Hegemony, so here it goes.

This blue bitch was the personal murderer of House Nithikar for most of two centuries, and she was damned good at it. Taking out rival Patriarchs, kidnapping heirs too young to defend themselves, putting collar on heirs who could, smacking down uppity midcaste, leading raids, you name it, she fuckin' did it.

Not sure she ever really did the slaving thing, but figure it had to have happened. Not going after aliens, Nithikar doesn't get off Khar'shan much, but I'll go ahead and assume she hauled more than a few poor schmucks from other houses back home to be thrown in chains.

Skipping to the end just so I don't have to come back to this shit later. It all came crashing down when the latest heir took a fancy to her and decided he wanted a piece of the family heirloom. When she told him to fuck off, he tried to slip her a date-rape drug, but the idiot gave her shit that only works on other Batarians. She apparently burned his dick off with warpfire, which lead to her getting the brand and the boot since she'd just sterilized the only bloody heir the family has. Fucking squints can be jack-asses like that.

Where fuck was I... right, what she did in her time there. The biggest brawl she was involved in was a feud with House Shaaryak that came up about fifty years ago, and saw her get stuck in a running fight across the capital with both of Shaaryak's own pet Asari Harath'krem. Those two, I think their names were Iyate and Ghai, were real pieces of work too. Fought their way into the Nithikar's manor and burned half of it to the ground before Shyeel managed to rally the guards and drive them off.

Both houses got some nice sanctions off of that shit... highborn houses killing each other isn't anything new, but the Patriarchs don't like that crap being done so openly. Especially when neither side really wins the fight, makes the lower castes start to wonder if the Highborn are really all that superior.

That's the basics, should be... damn, says here I'm supposed to go into details about her kills and crap... Christ that's going to take a while. Hey, EDI, how much do you think she really wants on all that?

...shit. Find me a yeoman, I'm going to need another pack of cigarettes for this. And a drink.

...Brandy, thanks love.

* * *

 **Threat Index**

 _Lawson_

Shyeel is easily the most combat experienced of the four Lancers, though she curiously seems to have little or no desire to actually lead or command the group. Knowing what little of Kean's personality that I do, I can only assume that she is concealing much of her past in order to avoid him trying to foist off the role onto her. ( _Entirely possible ~ Chambers)_

According to both the records we have and the latest 'documentary' episode, her primary weapon is a Kishok model sniper rifle, with a Xenthan made Heshten Type Five pistol as her backup weapon. During the engagement on Benihi, she switched out the heavier weapon for a carbine. As with the other Lancers, she maintains an extensive supply of grenades and is not afraid to use them in rapid order.

 _Close Combat –_ No recorded instances of her willingly engaging in close combat, an unusual contrast with the other three Lancers. Given that all of them are highly adept at such fighting, and given her age, I assume that she must at least be passable in hand to hand but prefers to avoid such circumstances.

 _Small Arms –_ She is easily the best shot of the four, which is far less surprising once I became aware of her history. It is likely she received specialized training as a sniper during her time in the Hierarchy's military, which she then put to good use during her 'career' in the Hegemony. Her usage of a Kishok denotes her as the team's de-facto heavy killer.

 _Defenses –_ Just as she is the best shot, she is also the hardest of the four to pin down thanks to a combination of a tactical cloaking system as well as her flash-step capability. While her distance seems to be only moderate, she has more than enough experience and fine control to ensure that each flash is highly energy efficient.

* * *

 **Unit Cohesion**

 _Lawson_

T'Voth appears to be the most independently minded of the four, behavior that the others do not seem to mind as her maneuverability allows her to act as their scout with very little real danger in most circumstances. As far as her teamwork, she seems to be adaptable enough to partner with any of the other three should the situation warrant it.

With Kean, she compliments his technical usage by finishing off his targets and keeping his flanks clear if he is engaged in close quarters battles. With Chi, she acts as the heavy sniper of the pairing, dropping heavier targets while the Quarian clears out those with weaker defenses. I have no recorded instances of her operating solely with T'Donna, but I find it likely that they have some operational scheme in place to compliment one another.

She is the only Lancer who would require anti-biotic weaponry to combat, and is also the most likely to survive any kind of attempted ambush. In this I disagree with General Petrovsky and instead propose that Shyeel T'Voth be the first target in any conflict between our forces and the Lancer unit. If the others were killed first, she would almost certainly flee (and succeed in escaping); then plan her revenge once she was secure.

Biotic nullifiers to keep her from flashing away would open the engagement, followed by a two-member sniper team to first cripple her barriers before the second eliminates her. As with the other Lancers, she prefers light armor for maneuverability, so heavier weapons will not be required.

* * *

 _ **End Report**_

* * *

 _And here's some more teasing about Shyeel's extensive background, and another reference to her past encounters with Ghai._ _Next chapter will be the last for this Those Who Fight, and will just be an update on their analysis of Cieran._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


End file.
